Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC (PGC) completes yet another challenging year with a turnover of Rs.6,816 m & PAT of Rs.344 m. Whilst the turnover increase was marginal when compared to the previous year, it was the highest ever turnover recorded by the company.
The total revenue achieved for the year was Rs.6,816 m as against Rs.6,783 m of the previous year. The domestic revenue saw a dip of 16% from Rs. 5,469 m in F17 to Rs. 4,595 m during the year under review. Beverage & Liquor segments were affected with the introduction of new taxes & levies while Agro sales were affected due to adverse weather conditions.
In the export segment, it was encouraging to note the Rs.2 b mark being crossed with a growth of 77%. The export turnover was Rs. 2,136 m when compared to Rs.1,209 m during the year F17.
The exports increased mainly in the US & Canadian markets with the company gaining entrance to several new markets which include Malaysia, Africa, Vietnam and Myanmar. The export to US has grown by over 150%, Australia by 72% and a six fold increase in the Canadian markets.
The Gross Profit for the year improved from Rs. 1,371 m to Rs. 1,422 m depicting a marginal increase in GP margins from 20% to 21%. Also, the Operating Profits increased from 11% to 13% from Rs.779 m to Rs. 869 m.
These results were achieved despite the high impact of depreciation on the investments made during the year. The depreciation increased by 31% from Rs.553 m to Rs.722 m. The profitability was further affected by an increase in interest costs and high energy prices. The annualized impact of the interest on the long term loan of Rs. 3 b taken for the relining & upgrading of the facility at Horana is reflected in the year under review.
The interest cost was Rs. 328 m as against Rs.176 m of the previous year. The impact of high furnace oil prices and fluctuating LPG prices continued during the period under review.
The year closed for PGC with a PAT of Rs. 344 m as against Rs. 485 m of the previous year. However, following the consistent policy of a 50% payout ratio, the board of directors have proposed a dividend of 18%.
PGC (Formerly Ceylon Glass Company) is the only glass bottle manufacturing plant in Sri Lanka. It had the opportunity of coming under the umbrella of the Piramal Group in 1999. Presently, located in Horana, it has been in existence for over 55 years. The company, originally at Ratmalana, was relocated at Horana in 2007 as a BOI venture.
PGC at its manufacturing capacity of 300 tonnes per day has the capability to offer glass containers in different shapes and colours for multiple industries such as food, liquor, pharmaceutical, agro chemicals and beverages.