Rising interest and energy costs, higher depreciation dent Piramal Glass performance

Higher depreciation, interest and energy costs and slowdown in domestic business have impacted the performance Piramal Glass PLC, the only glass bottle maker in Sri Lanka.

The financial accounts released to the Colombo bourse last week showed Piramal Glass recording earnings of 10 cents a share or Rs.92.4 million for the Januarymarch quarter (4Q18) against 22 cents or Rs.209.7 million for the same period last year.

Although the company’s top line grew during the quarter, higher cost of sales resulted in a lower gross profit compared with the previous year.

The operating profit for the period after selling & distribution and administrative expenses stood at Rs.273.8 million, down from Rs.333.5 million a year ago.

Meanwhile, for the financial year ended March 31, 2018, Pirimal Glass recorded earnings of 36 cents per share or Rs.343.8 million against earnings of 51 per share or Rs.485.5 million a year ago.

Although the top line improved marginally to Rs.6.8 billion, the company said it was the highest ever turnover recorded in its history.

However, despite this, Piramal Glass said its domestic revenue saw a dip of 16 percent year-on-year (YOY) to Rs.4.6 billion as beverage and liquor segments were affected with the introduction of new taxes and levies by the government.