Audited Group Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31st March 2018
Vision Investments Limited is pleased to announce the Group financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2018. The Group Financial Statements include the full 12 months trading of its fully owned subsidiary in Papua New Guinea-Vision Homecentres Limited.
The Group showed steady growth with revenue increasing 6 per cent to $180.4 million.
Profit after tax increased 10 per cent to $20.2 million. The growth is particularly noteworthy considering that in the previous year, performance was boosted by an event led one off increase in consumer demand across the retail sector.
The earnings per share increased from $0.18 to $0.19 per share.
The Balance Sheet was strong with total assets increasing 9 per cent to $155.0 million.
Liquidity improved with net working capital increasing 13 per cent to $92.3 million
The debt to total capital gearing reduced to 35 per cent from 39 per cent in the previous year.
The moderate gearing comfortably allows the balance sheet to take up more debt, to fund new investment projects in the pipeline to improve and grow the business.
The subsidiary-Vision Homecentres Limited, operating as “Home & More” in Papua New Guinea, incurred a material loss which is included in the Group Financial Statements.
This business commenced trading in February 2017 - just before commencement of the financial year and after a slow start, is beginning to show a steady increase in sales.
The anticipated recovery of the PNG economy after the national elections in June 2017 did not materialise to the extent anticipated. Large earthquakes in early 2018 which caused serious disruptions to the large oil, gas and mining concerns, and which diverted Government resources for relief efforts, further dampened any hope of economic recovery.
From a Group’s standpoint the operating loss of the subsidiary has bottomed out and with sales increasing as the business establishes itself, the situation can only improve going into the new financial year.
The Management is now committing resources to ensure this happens and to support the business during this difficult period.
The revenue and after tax profits for the Financial Year exceeded by a large margin the corresponding prospective financials that were disclosed in the information memorandum issued in connection with the listing of the Company on the South Pacific Stock Exchange.
Declaration of second interim dividend for the year ended March 31, 2018
On June 19, 2018 the Directors of the company declared a second interim dividend of $0.06 cents per ordinary share amounting to $6,226,166 out of the net earnings for the financial year ended March 31, 2018.
This dividend is consistent with the information that was disclosed in the information memorandum issued in connection with the listing of the Company on the South Pacific Stock Exchange.
The commentary on the Group’s operating results for the Financial Year 2017/18 is contained in the Market Announcement 19-06-2018/19 accompanying the release of the Audited Group Financial Statements for the year ended 31st March 2018, issued on 19th June 2018.