Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC (PGC) completes yet another challenging year with a turnover of Rs.6,816 Mn & PAT of Rs.344 Mn. Whilst the turnover increase was marginal when compared to the previous year, it was the highest ever turnover recorded by the company.

A total revenue achieved for the year was Rs.6,816 Mn as against Rs.6,783 Mn of the previous year. The domestic revenue saw a dip of 16% from Rs. 5,469 Mn in F17 to Rs. 4,595 Mn during the year under review. Beverage & Liquor segments were affected with the introduction of new taxes & levies while the Agro sale was affected due to the adverse weather conditions.

In the export segment, it was encouraging to note the Rs. 2 Bn mark being crossed with a growth of 77%. The export turnover was Rs. 2,136 Mn when compared to Rs.1,209 Mn 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 Mn to Rs. 1,422 Mn depicting a marginal increase in GP margins from 20% to 21%. Also, the Operating Profits increased from 11% to 13% from Rs. 779 Mn to Rs. 869 Mn.

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 Mn to Rs. 722 Mn. 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. 3Bn taken for the relining & upgradation of the facility at Horana is reflected in the year under review. The interest cost was Rs. 328 Mn as against Rs.176 Mn 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 Mn as against Rs. 485 Mn of the previous year. However, following the consistent policy of a 50% payout ratio, the Board of Directors have proposed a dividend of 18%.