Expolanka Holdings posts Rs. 335 m PAT for Q1

Expolanka Holdings PLC sustained its consolidated NPAT for the first quarter of FY 2012/13 at Rs. 335 million, with a consolidated NPBT at Rs. 461 million.

Expolanka Holdings Plc Group CEO Hanif Yusoof said: “More focus was given towards consolidating our existing businesses with investments in Freight and Logistics and Travel and Leisure. Our sustained growth strategies have yielded in a 24% growth in our revenue which has seen our revenue levels growing from Rs. 8.4 billion to Rs. 10.4 billion.”

During the quarter the group acquired a few strategic and synergistic Investments. In particular, Akquasun Holidays India and Expo Freight USA had notable positive impact on the consolidated revenue as well as on the overall profit levels of the company during the quarter under review.

The Freight and Logistics Sector of the Group contributed to NPBT Rs. 326 m and the other three key sectors – International Trading and Manufacturing, Travel and Leisure, and Strategic Investments and Services – contributed a PBT of Rs. 135 m to the Group.

The core sector, Freight and Logistics, contributed for 18 % growth in its revenue levels in relation to previous year. During the first quarter the company had initiated in making investments in North America, China and Hong Kong. A drop of 9% in operating profit was noted in this sector in comparison to the first quarter of the previous year. This was partially as a result of costs incurred for both infrastructural development and process improvements with a view to take the core sector to the next level.

The Travel & Leisure sector recorded growth both in its revenue and profit levels. The increase in revenue was mainly due to the inclusion of newly-acquired company, Akquasun Holidays India, a leading destination management company with notable global presence.

The operating profit of this sector increased significantly from Rs. 15 million to Rs. 61 million. This increase was driven by the performance of the ticketing and travel company, Classic Travels, and also partly due to the performance of the new acquisition. Inbound operations of this sector performed well and significant contributions were made particularly from Akquasun Holidays India.

International Trading and Manufacturing sector revenue grew by 16 % over the previous year. Whilst the Middle East economic and geopolitical crises are showing signs of improvement, the sector experienced significant increase in the revenue levels particularly in the tea segment and these businesses were also more profitable primarily by adopting suitable strategies.

The sector operating profit generated was Rs. 114 million as compared to a loss of Rs. 7.8 million operating loss which was recorded during the same period last year. The sector generated Rs. 67 million as profit before tax in comparison to Rs. 25 million loss before tax during last year.

The Investments and Services sector recorded 5% growth in revenue whereas the operating profit declined from Rs. 27 million to Rs. 22 million in the current year.

The GSA segment managed to sustain its profit levels and also generated higher cash-flows while the outstanding performances of the tertiary education institute continue to show positive growth momentum in the current quarter as well.

“Our focus for the Freight and Logistics Sector would be to continue towards increases in our volumes and maintaining our yield levels. We are actively attempting to consolidate our existing markets whilst penetrate into new markets with a view to attracting higher volumes,” Group CEO Yusoof said.

“We foresee sustenance of the Travel and Leisure sector performance which is strongly backed by the positive government policies in encouraging and promoting the tourism sector. We look forward to implementing our strategy of leveraging on synergies between inbound and outbound sectors mainly in Sri Lanka, India and Maldives. Our focus with this sector would be to continue to grow and consolidate our position as leading operators in both the outbound and inbound markets in the region.”

“We also could see fairly positive signs in exports in the International Trading and Manufacturing sector, where the macroeconomic and political environment has been gradually shifting thereby enabling us to facilitate better results,” Yusoof added.