Saturday 15 February 2014

Richard Pieris records 9 months revenue of Rs. 25.9bn

The Richard Pieris Group ended its first nine month's performance with a Group Revenue of Rs 25.9bn and Group Operating Profit of Rs.2bn. The reported profits were adversely affected mainly due to the plantation sector with the increase in wages, reduction of the prices of rubber and adverse weather conditions in the upcountry resulting in a decline when compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

"The third quarter was the busiest period in the year for Retail with the seasonal peak in business in the month of December 2013 as well as the opening of its 15th supercentre in the town of Matara.

The Company continued its focus on marketing activities with a very vibrant "Christmas Millionaires" campaign gifting a Million rupees on a weekly basis to six lucky winners for the third consecutive year, as well as a whole host of other consolation prizes for other winners.

The turnover was similar to that of the previous period but the profitability was affected due to the imposition of the VAT of 12.5 percent on the retail sector. The Company continued to focus heavily on managing overheads and inventory".

The Plastic and Distribution sector was adversely affected due to difficulties faced by the dealers especially in the outstations. It is noteworthy that the sector did well to hold forth its operating profits which reported only a marginal decline when compared to the previous year.

Each of the Sector's SBU's continued to search for market opportunities and many initiatives were undertaken during the quarter. Aggressive dealer promotions were carried out to ensure that the edge over the competitors is maintained. New marketing strategies were introduced and this is expected to deliver positive results in the 4th quarter. The sector focused on reducing overheads to enhance profitability levels, and focused on minimum working capital investments to optimize costs.

The impact of the wage increase in the plantation sector employees had its impact on the reported results of the period under review which in turn affected the overall profitability of the Group. The drop in rubber prices, poor crops due to adverse weather conditions affected the sector's performance in a negative manner. However, there was a significant increase in both the crop as well as the prices obtained for palm oil. The reduction in profitability in this sector adversely affected the Group results.

During the period under review the tyre sector of the Group reported an increase in their reported profits when compared with the results of previous year, where the sector continued to benefit from low material prices. Several process improvements were also carried out during the quarter which helped to improve the overall profitability.

The exports sector performed best out of all the Group companies recording exports of Rs.2.1bn during the period. Exports were increased to USA, Europe as well as new markets which were sourced during the period which portrays the growth potential for the future.

The sector continued its success from the first 6 months to the second half of the year with an overall growth in profitability. The latex foam business continued to thrive with a high level of technical and managerial excellence which enabled to maintain a healthy level of profitability with expansion of export markets despite the slowdown in European markets.
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