Sri Lanka’s Piramal Glass records 11-pct revenue growth in 1Q

Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC has announced its results for the 1st Quarter of F2017 with Rs. 1,656 Million of Revenue & Rs. 110 Million of Profit After Tax. The total revenue during the first quarter of FY 2017 showed an overall growth of 11%. The positive momentum achieved in the domestic market during previous year continued this year too with the quarterly growth depicting 9% as against the F16 Q1. The Domestic sale of F17 Q1 was Rs 1,318 Million as against Rs. 1,207 Million in the previous year similar period . The Export Market sale was Rs. 338 Million as against Rs. 290 Million of the previous year reflecting a growth of 16%. The actual growth potential had to be curtailed to facilitate domestic market requirements. During this quarter the company has mainly concentrated on the high value niche exports . During this quarter the company main concentration was towards building stocks in preparation for the forthcoming closure of the factory in Q2 , F17 for capacity enhancement & refurbishment. The strategy towards same was to build in-house manufactured stocks for proprietary bottles and to import generic bottles . During this quarter substantial portion of the domestic sale was met through trading. The company’s objective was to ensure that the customer requirement would be catered with the least disruption during the coming period. Thus in most cases the trading margins were not attractive . The major imports were done from its parent company Piramal Glass Limited, India. The Gross Profit margin for the period under review was at 18% as against 22% in the corresponding quarter previous year . This decrease was contributed by the above explained trading scenario & the several unforeseen interruptions in the production processes due to ageing furnace. Currently the relining of furnace with an expansion of capacity to 300 MT per day, refurbishment and repair work on downstream facility is in progress . The company is investing Rs 3 billion for the above modernization and expansion. Sanjay Tiwari CEO, Managing Director of Piramal Glass Ceylon Said “We would be back in operation by end of the 2nd Quarter with enhanced capacity & are confident in giving our customers a better choice of bottles in more exciting designs & shapes.” (Media Release)