Profits jump at M&S and Zara supplier Ciel Textiles

Wednesday, 3 October 2012 00:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Mauritian clothing group Ciel Textiles made a pretax profit of 610.67 million rupees ($20.1 million) in the year ended June 30, up from 231.58 million the previous year on the back of good order books and aggressive cost cutting, the company said.

The group, which supplies Britain’s Marks & Spencer and Next along with Spain’s Zara, said 70 per cent of profits were generated from international operations.

However, it said external factors remain generally negative, both on its major market and on the currency front. “Our short term priority remains to increase our sales potential and limit margin erosion due to excess supply over demand,” the company said in a statement.

As a result, it expected earnings in the forthcoming first half to be lower.

Listed on Mauritius’s secondary Development and Enterprise Market, Ciel Textiles said earnings per share rose to 4.50 rupees from 1.86 rupees a year earlier.