Piramal Glass Ceylon shines with Rs. 149 m after tax profit in 1Q

Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC (PGC) has announced its first quarter profits for FY13.
The company has been able to maintain its profitability in line with the corresponding quarter of the previous year FY 2011-12 despite the adverse conditions it had to face during the period under review.

The company registered a growth of 15% in its total revenue of Rs. 1,274 million. This increase was possible mainly due to the export growth of 27% when compared with that of the same quarter of the previous year. However liquor and the pharmaceutical sectors showed a dip during this quarter.
The gross profits remained at 28% of turnover despite the value growth of Rs. 168 million in the top line. The profit before tax fell from 13% to 12% during Q1 of FY13 compared to Q1 of FY12.
The profit during the quarter was mainly impacted by the high energy prices and the exchange losses incurred on the long term US Dollar loan. The energy cost during the quarter grew by 41% with furnace oil taking the lead with a price increase of almost 80%.
“The loss due to rupee depreciation against the US Dollar for Rs. 41 million is booked under administrative costs as we mark to market (revalue) the Forex loans at the end of every quarter,” CEO Piramal Glass, Sanjay Tiwari said.  
“Due to the internal thrust on manufacturing and business process excellence, we saw a significant improvement during this period. The efficiencies grew by over 3%, surpassing the 85% barrier which is considered a great milestone in the glass industry whilst the production tonnage improved by over 6% during the quarter under review as against the same quarter last year,” he added.
Tiwari went on to say that the company has been successful in controlling overheads during the quarter under review. This helped the company to maintain its profitability on par with the similar period of last year.  Despite the outlook not being very rosy, the company is forging ahead on a positive note with the hope that external factors would take a positive turn during the balance three quarters of the year. “We are also exploring newer markets for exports to maintain our growth and profitability,” said Tiwari.
Piramal Glass Ceylon has achieved Level II of Manufacturing Excellence in the PY for its operations at Horana and is already geared to cross Level III in the current financial year. During the period under review PGC has attained SET Level II for its service functions, namely supply chain, marketing and finance.
Piramal Glass Ceylon (Formerly Ceylon Glass Company) is the only glass bottle manufacturing plant in Sri Lanka. It had the opportunity of coming under the umbrella of the Piramal Group in 1999. Presently located in Horana, it has been in existence for over 55 years. The company originally at Rathmalana was relocated at Horana in 2007 as a BOI venture under the auspices of the ‘300 factory programme’ of the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’.
PGC at its 250 ton capacity manufacturing facility has the capability to offer glass containers in different shapes and colours for multiple industries such as food, liquor, pharmaceutical, agro chemicals and soft drinks.  The Piramal Group led by Ajay G. Piramal is one of India’s foremost business conglomerates. Driven by the core values of knowledge, action, care, the Piramal Group has a formidable presence in healthcare, drug discovery and research, glass, real estate and financial services. The Piramal Group also pursues sustained community activities in healthcare, education, emergency medical services, and heritage restoration.