Singer records 11% rise in PAT for 2019/20 amidst challenges
View(s):The Singer Group has reported a full year (FY) 2019/20 consolidated revenue of Rs. 55 billion with an 11 per cent rise in Profit after Tax (PAT) despite the ongoing challenging business environment.
The group’s consolidated gross profit for the year increased by 2 per cent to Rs. 16.4 billion and at the company level, gross profit increased by 6 per cent to Rs. 13 billion, the company said in a media release.
Consolidated Profit before Tax (PBT) for the FY 2019/20 was recorded at Rs. 611 million which is a decrease of 9 per cent from the previous year.
Consolidated PAT of Rs. 427 million resulted in a growth of 11 per cent compared to Rs. 386 million during the previous year.
The company also recorded a net PAT of Rs. 13 million, compared to Rs. 140 million achieved last year. The group’s total comprehensive income for the year is reported at Rs. 449 million.
During the financial year, Singer Group revenues were adversely impacted mainly by the April 21 Easter Sunday Attack and its prolonged impact in the economy, mobile phones sales drop due to the US/China trade war, and the recent island- wide shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The improvements in gross profits reflects the group’s timely decisions in product margin management and well balanced product marketing mix, continued growth in hire-purchase interest income and ongoing emphasis on streamlining processes,” the release added.
Commenting on the FY performance, Mahesh Wijewardene, Group Chief Executive Officer said, “Despite a difficult business environment and continued challenging external environment we continue to drive forward persistently. While the anticipated strong earnings and an overall solid performance did not materialize at the end of the financial year, we will continue to strengthen our businesses and further increase our competitiveness to deliver sustainable profitable growth in the future.”
On the COVID-19 crisis, the group said that it experienced disruption in retail sales, collections of trade debtors, hire purchase collections and lease installment collections during this period and this is likely to continue in Q1 and Q2 as a result of anticipated negative sentiments from the macro and micro economic environment. The group expects retail operation to be normalised in Q2 (FY 20/21) onwards.