Hayleys third quarter PBT reaches Rs.1.7bn

Sri Lankan multinational, Hayleys PLC, has recorded a strong all-round performance in the third quarter of 2018 (3Q18), with group turnover rising by 20 per cent Year- on-Year( YoY) to Rs. 59.7 billion.

This is a sharp 80 per cent YoY increase in group’s Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) to Rs. 9 billion for the quarter, the company said in a media release.

“The group’s nine months performance was equally impressive with turnover reaching Rs.163 billion and the EBITDA reaching Rs 15.1 billion. The profit from operating activities of the group was Rs.11.3 billion, which is a 68 per cent YoY improvement. However, the net Finance Cost increased to Rs.7.7 billion from Rs. 3.9 attributed to the inclusion of Singer Group’s finance cost and the cost of funding recent acquisitions. Profit before tax (PBT) of Rs.3.5 billion reflect a 19 per cent improvement over the previous year while the PAT (post tax profit) increased by 23 per cent to Rs.1.9 billion,” the company said.

In his comments, Hayleys Chairman and Chief Executive, Mohan Pandithage said that the strong performance across the Hayleys group over the last quarter taken together with the cumulative results of the period, show that “our businesses have displayed resilience in the face of significant volatility in the domestic and international economy.”

Due to consolidation of Singer (Sri Lanka) PLC, the group’s Retail sector, expanded revenue during the 9 months to end December 2018 to Rs. 52.4 billion against a previous Rs. 19.9 billion while operating profit rose sharply from Rs. 966 million to Rs. 3.4 billion.

The group’s Transportation and Logistics sector posted similarly impressive results, expanding turnover to Rs. 33 billion from Rs. 25.8 billion in the previous year, while operating profit rose from Rs. 1.9 billion to Rs. 2.2 billion.

“During the quarter, the sector’s distribution centre capacity was increased with completion of new projects including the Advantis Logistics City while expanding their global presence,” the release said.

Strong performance in the group’s agriculture sector resulted in turnover rising to Rs. 10.8 billion from a previous Rs. 10.1 billion while operating profit expanded from Rs. 736 million to Rs. 1.2 billion during the 9-month period.