Expolanka posts strong consolidation on top and bottom line performances in 3Q

• Revenue surges by 32% YoY up to Rs. 27.7b 
• PAT increases by 39% YoY up to Rs. 591m 
• Strong performance driven mainly by logistics and leisure sectors

Delivering on its ambitious growth targets, Expolanka PLC yesterday announced its third quarter results showing another quarter of strong top and bottom line performance. 

For the third quarter of FY2018/19 (3Q19), turnover at Expolanka increased by 32% Year-on-Year (YoY) up to Rs. 27.7 billion, powered by continued consolidation of its freight forwarding and logistics business and further bolstered by the group’s growing leisure operation. 

Expanded turnover coupled with a continuing focus on stabilisation of margins through optimisation of procurement functions resulted in an increased gross profit of Rs. 5.1 billion, reflecting an impressive growth rate of over 37% YoY. Ultimately, this continuing consolidation of market share and internal efficiencies enabled a drastic increase in Profit After Tax (PAT), which expanded by a substantial 39% YoY up to Rs. 591 million.  Expolanka has diligently pursued a balanced strategy that emphasises not only growth by maximisation of revenue, but also concentrating on improving internal efficiencies. This focus on fundamentals continued to yield positive returns to the group and our valued shareholders over the last quarter as well as cumulatively over FY 19. “Our logistics sector remains our strongest contributor to group revenue and our efforts to enhance margins and improve efficiencies while expanding capacity have yielded sustainable results. Our Leisure business is going through a period of consolidation within its operations and the sector is further strengthening its business and processes to meet the challenges that the industry is faced with. We hope that the focus that we are bringing into the business will help us sustain our performance in the future as well,” Expolanka Group CEO Hanif Yusoof stated. 

During the quarter, the group’s logistics sector posted a 32% YoY increase in revenue up to Rs. 26.5 billion while improved capacity management and yield improvement in its procurement functions enabled the sector to sustain its margins throughout 3Q19. This resulted in the sector posting a remarkable 40% YoY growth rate in gross profits, which closed the quarter at Rs. 4.8 billion.

All core freight products remained strong, with Air Export continuing to remain as the largest contributor to Expolanka’s top line. While the sector continued to face challenges in the Ocean Freight business segment, it was nevertheless able to maintain stability across its global operations while key origins for the group – South Asia and the Far East – continued to see growth and improvement within targeted margins.

The group’s North American and European trade lanes also recorded improved performances over the quarter while the Intra-Asia trade lane operation remained stable. Similarly, the group’s contract logistics operations and transport operations also recorded stable growth having successfully overcome challenges faced in their initial operations.

Consequently, Expolanka’s logistics sector closed the quarter with a Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs. 710 million, reflecting growth of 36% YoY. 

Similarly, the group’s operational consolidation also carried through to its burgeoning leisure sector. Despite challenging operating conditions and stiff competition, the sector continued to achieve post gradual improvements, and over 3Q19, was able to generate a PAT of Rs. 66 million, reflecting growth of 38% YoY. 

Within the Leisure Sector, Expolanka will continue to focus on the core, corporate travel business, while also incorporating value added services, solutions and technologies to enhance its overall service portfolio and maintain its differentiation strategy.

Meanwhile, the group’s investment sector – which is primarily linked to export operations – also contributed positively towards group performance while the sector’s IT operations helped to maintain cost structures from the previous year with a focus on creating strategic value to the group. In total, the sector contributed Rs. 835 million towards the top line performance.