Haycarb PLC, the Sri Lankan multinational of Hayleys PLC reported revenue of Rs. 10.9 billion and profit before tax of Rs. 564 million for 9 months ending December 31, 2017. The profit after tax stood at Rs 473 million.
Haycarb PLC Managing Director Rajitha Kariyawasan said that the raw material shortages and resulting high prices continued to impact the bottom line adversely in Q3 of 2017/18. The deterioration of charcoal availability in Sri Lanka, India and Thailand driven by unfavourable weather conditions, resulted in significant increases of cost of manufacture in Sri Lanka and Thailand.
On the other hand, even though the raw material availability continued to recover in Indonesia during the period under review, the price pressure did not ease due to the high level of demand attributable to shortages of charcoal in other locations. In this situation the company has made significant efforts to revise prices of activated carbon in consecutive occasions through discussions with its valued customers. However, the lagging effect and the inability to pass the full impact of the price increase has resulted in lower margins compared to last year.
Kariyawasan stated that in this challenging environment, noteworthy savings were generated through increased efficiencies and cost reductions obtained via manufacturing processes and supply chain through lean projects.
He further said, “the company’s initiatives to acquire new customer accounts and market segments backed by a robust product development platform have also shown positive results and added to the bottom line.”
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