Unfavourable external scenarios affect Expolanka's profits

Weak performances of the key business sectors have caused a profit decline for Expolanka Holdings PLC, the interim financials of the company showed.

During the December quarter, the consolidated net profit of Expolanka dipped 71 per cent to Rs.193 million yearon-year, while the ear nings per share declined from 37 cents to 10 cents.

The revenue also dipped 29.31 per cent to Rs.6 billion while the gross profit declined 8 per cent to Rs.1.4 billion. The other income and gains also dropped 62 per cent to Rs.237 million against the corresponding quarter of the previous year, where Expolanka disposed two of its loss-making subsidiaries.

Expolanka Chair man Osman Kassi m at t r i but e d t he d ro p i n revenue to unfavourable exter nal scenarios, which he perceives as temporary setbacks.

Fo r t h e n i n e mon t h s e n d e d D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 , E x p o l a n k a 's net profit declined 39 per cent to Rs.768 million against the cor responding quarter, while the ear nings per share dropped to 39 cents.

A segmental analysis provided with the interim showed that the operating profits of the transportation sector decreased to Rs.1.24 billion from 1.51 billion, during the nine months to December 31 year-on-year, while the operating profit from inter national trading dropped to Rs.187 million from Rs.284 million.

H o w e v e r, m a n u f a c t u r i n g a n d s t r a t e g i c i nve s t ment s e g - ments perfor med positively with growths in operating profits.

“We continue to pursue developing the right strategies and using the right resources to ensure that we consistently create value to our stakeholders. Our committed workforce, along with the supportive board, has ensured that we are in the right direction to achieve our long-ter m goals,” Expolanka CEO Hanif Yusoof said.