Demand for food jars drives growth at Piramal Glass
View(s):Demand for food jars during the COVID-19 pandemic has driven growth at Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC. The company this week announced its results for the half year ending September 30, 2020 with revenue of Rs. 3,560 million and a Profit after Tax (PAT) of Rs. 316 million against revenue of Rs. 3,527 million and PAT of Rs. 95 million during the corresponding period in the previous year.
The year started under a lockdown situation in the country due to the COVID -19 pandemic. The operations commenced with 25 per cent capacity producing glass containers for essential commodities for food and pharmaceutical customers. The operations were back to normal only by mid-May leading to a setback in Q1, the company said in a media release.
However, the demand started improving from the second quarter of the current financial year and the company was able to generate revenue of Rs. 2,230 million as against Rs. 1,942 million of the previous year, reflecting a growth of 14.8 per cent. The Profit after Tax stood at Rs. 360 million for the quarter ending September 2020 as against Rs. 74 million during the corresponding period in the previous year.
The demand for packaged food witnessed a steep rise due to panic buying by households resulting in higher sales of food jars in the domestic segment during the period under review. The demand for pharmaceutical and Agro industries also showed a healthy upward trend. However, the beverage market saw a setback with the restrictions placed on social and festive gatherings.
Export sales were marginally ahead in FY21 second quarter with Rs. 670 million against Rs. 651 million of the corresponding period during the previous year. This was achieved despite limitations in vessel availability for major markets with even shipments to nearby markets such as India and Pakistan being impacted.
The company said it made inroads into new markets such as UK, Mexico, Colombia and Netherlands with food jars and high-end liquor bottles.
“We are hopeful to sustain and further improve the performance, as there is a healthy pipeline for new products and new customers in the international markets. Even the demand from domestic customers remains strong. We shall continue to provide the right product quality with excellent customer service and innovation in new product development,” said Sanjay Jain – Executive Director & COO.