The LAB’S nine-month profit and revenues up

Advertising agency the Limners and Bards Limited (the LAB) recently reported an unaudited after-tax profit of $107.81 million for the nine-month period ended July 31, 2020, a 54.4 per cent increase when compared with the previous corresponding period.

However, it should be noted that there was no taxation for the period under review, and for proper comparison, using the net profit before taxation for the corresponding period in 2019 the increase would be $19.1 million or 21.6 per cent.

Revenues for the nine–month period also increased by 41.1 per cent to $686.1 million. This was driven by the growth in media placement (up $136.3 million or 60.5 per cent), advertising agency (up $58.1 million or 72.7 per cent), and production (up $5.3 million or 3 per cent) during the period.

Administration expenses for the period under review increased by $38.1 million, or 47.1 per cent in comparison to the previous corresponding nine– month period. These increases are primarily attributable to staff costs due to increase work volume.

While the company implemented a cost containment strategy, some one-off costs also contributed to the increase administration expenses. These included a systemisation initiative and training to assist in efficiencies linked to the company’s growth drivers and a payout of 50 per cent of its 2019 employee profit share.

Shareholders’ equity increased by 34.2 per cent to $444.96 million in the nine-month period under review, up from the $331.56 million recorded in the previous corresponding period.

The company’s total asset for the period stood at $122.5 million, a 23.6 per cent increase over the corresponding period last year, while earnings per share ended at $0.11, an increase compared with the $0.09 recorded in the prior corresponding period.