Softlogic’s 2Q profit dips, 1H up

Softlogic Holdings Plc yesterday reported a 5% dip in net profit to Rs. 361.2 m for the second quarter but first half performance up by 39.6% to Rs. 790 m.

Group cumulative revenue growth was 15.4% to Rs. 29.4 b with second quarter consolidated revenues increasing by 17.5% to Rs. 15.1 b.

The retail sector continued to lead its contribution to Group revenue with 32.7% up during 1HFY17 followed by ICT (31.3%), healthcare services (17.4%) and financial services (14.7%). The Group’s fully-owned subsidiaries contributions have witnessed a gradual increase and are expected to perform better in the upcoming periods.

Consolidated Gross Profit increased to Rs. 4.7 b during the second quarter of the financial year with cumulative first half Gross Profit increasing to Rs. 9.2 b.

Group EBITDA for the first half performance of the financial year was Rs. 3.9 b with the quarter reaching Rs. 2 b up 3.6%.

Performance improvement at the associate companies, Sabre Travel Network and Nextage, enhanced the Group PBT further to improve 19.2% to Rs. 1.2 b during the cumulative period under discussion. The quarterly increase in PBT was 10.4% to Rs. 608.1 million.

Softlogic Holdings Chairman Ashok Pathirage said with the increase in VAT, and corporate taxes announced in the recent budget, the general business outlook is increasingly challenging. 

“Nonetheless, with Softlogic’s presence in the right sectors of the economy, it is expected that the upcoming periods would ensure greater stability and better performance as improvement in overall synergy and efficiency materializes with the unlocking of capital intensive projects in the healthcare services, leisure and retail sectors,” he added.