PGP Glass Ceylon achieves milestone of over Rs. 1 b net profit

PGP Glass Ceylon Board (from left): Sanjay Tiwari, C.T.S.B. Perera, Chairman Vijay Shah, R.M.S. Fernando and Sanjay Jain

PGP Glass Ceylon PLC has in the first nine months of FY22 achieved a milestone of over Rs. 1 billion after tax profit up from Rs. 694 million a year earlier.

Turnover was Rs. 7 billion, up from Rs. 5.9 billion in the first nine months of FY21.

The Board of Directors has declared a second interim dividend of Rs. 0.25 per share at its meeting held on 11 February 2022 for the period ending 31 December 2021.

The company reported a growth of 19% in overall revenue with 55% growth in PAT. The domestic sales during the period grew by 19% from Rs. 4,176 million to 4,976 million whilst Export Revenue grew by 17% from Rs. 1,785 million to 2,088 million.

During the quarter (Q3) under review, the company achieved a revenue of Rs. 2,923 million up by 22% from a year earlier. Sales to the domestic market grew by 26% to Rs. 2,123 million. In the export segment the sales improved by 11% to Rs. 800 million.

PGP said amidst the challenging global scenario of higher freight costs and restricted vessel options, the company was able to recover part of the deferred export sale of the first half of this year. Also, during the quarter, the company launched new products in markets of Mexico, Nepal and Mauritius.

The profit after tax for the third quarter was Rs. 535 million up 42% from the corresponding period of FY21.

The increased volumes helped gross margins for the quarter rise to 29% as compared to 27% during the similar period of the previous year.

PGP said due to the current global supply chain disruption and rising energy prices, manufacturing industries across the globe have witnessed a steep rise in input costs as well as energy costs.

“We are also facing similar situations, with raw materials, packaging materials and energy prices at an all-time high and forecasted to further rise in coming days. The recent increase in furnace oil and diesel prices are adding pressure on the cost of manufacturing. With higher freight costs and unprecedented increases in input costs, our products are getting less competitive in global markets,” Executive Director and COO Sanjay Jain said.

“The company is aggressively exploring new international markets for its products in the premium speciality liquor segment. The strategy to innovate in new product design and development, with increased global footprint has helped the company effectively mitigate demand fluctuations in its existing markets. To mitigate the current cost increase, the company plans to optimise the operations with digital and analytics tools and continue its focus on premium products with decoration for international customers, thereby partially reducing the cost implication on the domestic market,” he added.