Hayleys Fabric puts up strong show in Sept. quarter

Hayleys Fabric PLC put up a solid performance for the September quarter as the knit fabric manufacturer significantly improved its top and bottom line performances.

The company reported earnings of 36 cents a share or Rs.75 million for the Julyseptember quarter (2Q19), up sharply from 7 cents a share or Rs.14.9 million reported for the corresponding quarter a year ago.

The September earnings are also significantly higher from the 8 cents a share or Rs.16.1 million the company reported for the previous quarter.

Hayleys Fabric returned to profit during the previous quarter after reporting losses for multiple quarters.

The revenue during the quarter under review was Rs.2.8 billion, an increase of 17 percent year-on-year (YOY).

Hayleys Fabric is a major supplier to the textile industry and delivers 2.5 million metres of fabric each month to apparel manufacturers from a factory located in Narthupana Estate, Neboda, in the Western Province.

The firm, which was earlier known as Hayleys MGT Knitting Mills PLC, was rebranded in July 2015 and offers end-toend solutions from design, development, printing, brushing and sueding of pure and blended polyester and cotton fabrics.

In May, last year, the company’s manufacturing process came to a halt for about two weeks due to floods. With the houses of employees also being inundated, heavy absenteeism resulted in significant production loss.

Meanwhile, for the six months ended September 30, 2018, the company reported earnings of 43 cents a share or Rs.90.1 million, compared to a loss per share of 5 cents a share or Rs.10.3 million reported for the same period, last year.

The company had sales of Rs.5.2 billion during the six months, up 17 percent YOY.

As at September 30, 2018, the Hayleys group companies held a 63.05 percent stake in Hayleys Fabric, while the Employees’ Provident Fund held a 2.67 percent stake being the fifth largest shareholder.