Financial Times

Haycarb makes 1Q loss as raw material costs soar
Haycarb, the Hayleys subsidiary making coconut shell charcoal-based activated carbon, made a loss in the first quarter of the year because of sharply higher raw material costs caused by a drought-induced crop shortfall.
However, a recovery is already in sight and the company expects to do better this year because of low cost supplies of carbon from its Indonesian subsidiary, Haycarb chairman Rajan Yatawara told shareholders.

The Haycarb group made a loss of Rs 64.8 million in the three months ended June 30 compared with a profit of Rs 36.7 million in the same quarter last year.
Turnover fell 17 percent to Rs 557 million from Rs 674 million over the same period.

“As a consequence of the April-June crops this year being delayed two months, there was a serious dearth of charcoal,” Yatawara said.
“The company was, therefore, compelled to import much of its requirement, resulting in the average cost of raw material being 60 percent higher than the average paid in the first quarter of the financial 2004/05 year. The loss is largely attributable to this.”

He said an improvement in the situation was already evident in July. “It is envisaged that the performance in the current financial year would be considerably better than the previous, largely due to low cost supplies of carbon from (the company’s) operations in Sulawesi,” Yatawara said.

Back to Business