Corporate Governance

Haycarb records turnover of USD 18.5Mnand PBT of USD 1.3Mn for Q1 2014/15

The Sri Lankan multinational Haycarb PLC reported a turnover of USD 18.5 Mn and profit before tax ofUSD 1.3 Mnfor Q1 2014/15. The profit after tax stood atUSD 1.1Mn.

Haycarb PLC Managing Director, Mr. Rajitha Kariyawasan commenting on the results of Q1 stated that “Sri Lanka operations faced significant challenges during the first quarter of the year, as raw material prices increased approximately 20% compared to the previous year. The situation was compounded by the scarcity of charcoal in India where Haycarb Sri Lanka procures a large portion of its requirements. Similarly the charcoal prices in Indonesia rose significantly close to 20% followed by a lesser impact in Thailand where the charcoal prices impacted adversely in the previous financial year”.

He noted that the time lag in passing this cost to customers, and the inability to pass the raw material price increases to customers at a reasonable level impacted the Group’s GP margins significantly in Q1. The Company balances the need to improve margins whilst retaining key customer accounts and driving top line growth in a back drop of severe competition from established and new players in the market.

Haycarb records turnover of USD 40Mnand PBT of USD 2.8Mnfor 1H 2014/15

The Sri Lankan multinational Haycarb PLC reported a turnover of USD 40 Mnand profit before tax of USD 2.8 Mnfor six months ending 30th September 2014. The profit after tax stood at USD 2.3Mn.

Haycarb PLC Managing Director, Mr. Rajitha Kariyawasan said, “the continuing trend of high raw material prices in Sri Lanka and India combined with the inability to transfer the resultant cost increase adequately to its customers, affected the performance of Sri Lanka operations adversely. The increase in raw material prices in Indonesia and in Thailand, also impacted on the Group results adversely.” He further explained that “the Company balances the requirement to increase prices with the need to retain and grow key customer accounts and new markets to drive its medium to long term growth strategy”.

Significant cost savings were achieved through Lean and Cost reduction initiatives to mitigate the impact of drop in gross margins to a certain degree. He further explained that the Company is rationalizing its product portfolio and manufacturing capacities, whilst investing in development and commercialization of new value added products. The Company continues to expand its geographical market reach and growth in key markets to capitalize on the emerging trends in the activated carbon and purification solutions segments.

Haycarb records 3Q Turnover of USD 61 Million and PBT of USD 4.6 million

Haycarb PLC, the Sri Lankan multinational of the Hayleys Group, reported a turnover of USD 61 Million and profit before tax of USD 4.6 million for the 9 months ending 31st December 2014. The profit after tax stood at USD 4 million.

Haycarb PLC Managing Director, Mr. Rajitha Kariyawasan said, “continuation of the high raw material prices in Sri Lanka and India and the inability to pass on the resultant cost increases to its customers impacted the profitability of the Sri Lanka operations significantly. He further explained that the requirement to increase product prices is evaluated and balanced against the need to retain key customer accounts and strategies formulated to capture new markets to grow the top line. The depreciation of the currencies in some of Haycarb’s key markets, notably the depreciation of the Euro, Australian Dollar and Japanese Yen resulted in exertion of yet more pressure on product pricing.

The Environmental Engineering Solutions arm, Puritas (Pvt) Ltd., made significant progress during the 9 months under review as it increased its local and regional presence for small to medium sized purification projects. This sector will remain a key focus for diversification and future growth of the Group.