Piramal Glass Ceylon records profits, crosses Rs. 4bn revenue-mark

* Declares a 30 percent dividend



* Post-conflict economic revival boosts domestic sales

April 27, 2011, 8:16 pm

Peace dividend:

With peace in the island, the domestic market contributed significantly to Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC’s financial performance, helping it report strong profits for the recently concluded financial year after making losses the previous year. The various segments of the local market added towards the domestic market growth of 34 percent from Rs.2.35 billion to Rs.3.16 billion. Volume wise there was a growth of 26 percent.

Piramal Glass Ceylon Plc (PGC) made record profits for the financial year ended March 31, 2011, after recording a Rs. 61 million loss the previous year, on revenue growth of 14 percent, taking after-tax profits to Rs. 578 million.

Releasing its annual financials the company said that revenue achieved for the year (FY11) was Rs. 4.16 billion, a growth of 18 percent as against Rs. 3.52 billion the previous year. Profit after tax (PAT) amounted to Rs. 578 million, equating to 14 percent of turnover as against the loss of Rs. 61 million recorded in FY10. With this exceptional performance the board of directors has declared a first and final dividend of 30 percent.

PGC’s Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Sanjay Tiwari while announcing PGC’s results said, "We’re proud to report the best ever annual results for PGC. This year we started reaping the returns of the extensive investments on our new facility at Horana."

With peace being restored in the region, the domestic market contributed significantly during the year under review. The various segments of local market added towards the domestic market growth of 34 percent from Rs.2.35 billion to Rs.3.16 billion. Volume wise also there was a growth of 26 percent.

The main contributor to the profitability was the premium Export Market segment. The company ensured that the export sales crossed the Rs.1 billion Mark for the second consecutive year. Several new products were designed and launched in the export market which yielded high realisation to the profitability.

The export product portfolio saw a gradual shift from mass market to high end premium market segment yielding higher realizations. Speciality (high end) market segment grew by 24 percent in volume from 8,607 tonnes to 10,660 tonnes whilst the company voluntarily reduced the Mass market segment by 60 percent.

The manufacturing facility also contributed to ensure a cost effective bottle being produced. Improved efficiencies & speeds contributed towards the final profitability. During the period the company was able to produce 11 percent more than the previous year. This helped the company maintain the cost of bottles amidst the raw material costs increases. The unprecedented increase in energy prices namely LPG Gas, Electricity tariff & Furnace oil has impacted the over all cost of production.

During the year PGC was accredited with ISO 22000:2005 certifications designed for food and safety. The Company has already received certification for complying with ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System. This new accreditation is a testimony to the best in class systems & processors followed by the company.

The continuous achievements of Piramal Glass Ceylon during FY11 were also recognized by external agencies with several awards. PGC received the Gold Medal in Large Category at National Chamber of Exports Export Awards, Merit Award for Industrial Excellence at Ceylon National Chamber of Industries Achievers Awards, Gold Award in Manufacturing Sector and Silver Award in the Best Tech Savvy Company segment at the National Business Excellence awards organized by National Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka and a Bronze Award at the Lanka Star 2010 organized by Sri Lanka institute of Packaging.

"We are indeed thrilled at the performance of Piramal Glass Ceylon. This is also evident from the closing share price which has grown 5 times as compared to 31st March 2010. Also the Market Capitalization crossed Rs.10.5 Billion as compared to Rs.2.1 Billion at the beginning of the year." Said Sanjay Tiwari.
Vijay Shah Chairman Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC said, "We are confident that with the growing domestic markets coupled with potential of premium export market, the company would continue to strive towards excellent performance in the future too. We also would like to acknowledge the trust and confidence placed by our stake holders. We have suitably rewarded by way of a proposal of 30 percent final dividend for the year 2010/11."

source - www.island.lk