Expolanka posts net profit of Rs. 1. 57 b, up 23% for FY 2013/14

Monday, 2 June 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Expolanka Holdings PLC recorded revenue of Rs. 54.4 billion and net profit of Rs. 1.57 billion for the financial year 2013/14, achieving YOY growth of 23%. The net profit attributable to equity holders of the Group reached Rs. 1.43 billion in comparison to the Rs. 1.06 billion recorded during the corresponding period last year.

“Expolanka has come a long way on an incredible journey of success. Today in keeping with our daring to do attitude we take our Group business to the next dimension in the global market with a strategic investment partnership with SG Holdings, a leading logistic company in Japan,” said Group CEO and Director of Expolanka Holdings PLC Hanif Yusoof. “This quarter we have had our focus on the strategic restructure with the aim of achieving long term sustainability in the Group’s core businesses and redirecting funds and capital towards higher ROE businesses. We are pleased with the outcome of these strategies and have been able to steer the Group in the right direction for future growth prospects,” he added. The Strategic Restructure was undertaken with the aim of focusing the Group attention on the core business sector, Freight and Logistics. In spite of the restructure effort costs, the Freight and Logistics sector recorded healthy revenue growth in comparison to the corresponding period last year. Revenue grew to Rs. 34.9 billion during the year under review from Rs. 32.2 billion during the same period last year. However, performances declined in India and Bangladesh due to recent economic and political challenges in the region. Performance in the USA was partially affected by unfavourable weather conditions and economic challenges. This affected the overall sector profit growth. The Travel and Leisure sector posted a marginal revenue decline of 2%, reaching Rs. 2.3 billion in comparison to the corresponding period last year. Classic Travel continued to perform exceptionally well throughout the quarter. Akquasun India’s performances declined partially due to volatile economic conditions that affected the Indian Rupee exchange rate. The International Trading and Manufacturing sector recorded a revenue growth of 15%, reaching Rs. 14.5 billion from Rs. 12.6 billion recorded during the corresponding period last year. With the Group focus on developing core sectors, the International Trading and Manufacturing sector underwent substantial restructure changes. The Group moved out of volatile businesses and closed down underperforming profit centres. The costs incurred in the restructure processes and the low performance in Expolanka Tea business dampened the quarter performance with an overall loss. “Whilst the restructure efforts had some negative impact on the performance of the Group in the short term, we believe these efforts should help us in the long run and we remain optimistic of the future,” Yusoof added.