Ashok Leyland reports nearly 50% income rise for 1H
View(s):Lanka Ashok Leyland, which started the results season at the Colombo Stock Exchange this Monday, saw its income rise to Rs. 7.2 billion for the first six months of this year, which is a 49 per cent rise against the same period last year.
Its 2Q income was at Rs. 4 billion, a 41 per cent increase over the same quarter in 2016 and profit before taxation for this six months grew 33 per cent to Rs. 563.8 million. The company’s gross profit margin was 7.5 per cent which is a 90 basis points decline owing to higher import costs. The company’s earnings per share were up by 25 per cent year on year to Rs. 24. The company said that the sharp increase in inventories during 1H18 (at Rs. 4.9 billion – a 33 per cent increase) was due to maintaining inventory levels that would be greater than one quarter of its sales as the company’s turnover crosses Rs. 4 billion for a quarter. The latest shareholder list shows under-fire Perpetual Group subsidiary, Perpetual Equities remaining as the fourth shareholder with 6.3 per cent stake.