Sri Lanka’s Expolanka profit skyrockets over 200% on exports, rupee depreciation
ECONOMYNEXT – Profit in Sri Lanka’s market heavyweight Expolanka Holdings with a network of
logistics units in the US, EU, Asia and Africa for the June 2022 quarter rose more than 220 percent due to its logistics business and exchange rate gain after rupee collapsed in the quarter.
The group recorded a profit of 20.1 billion rupees in the June quarter, 220.6 percent increase from 6.3 billion rupees a year earlier. The June quarter’s profit was less than the March quarter’s bottom line of 31.4 billion rupees.
Expolanka group reported earnings of 10.31 rupees per share for the quarter, compared to 3.22 rupees in the same quarter in the previous year.
The group said during the period under review, with the rupee continued to depreciate, the firm made
6.9 billion rupees in the exchange gain, increasing the net asset value of the company by 25 billion
rupees for the quarter.
The group recorded a revenue of 235.1 billion rupees, an increase of 145.7 percent from a year earlier while the cost of sales have increased by 143.8 percent to 198.2 billion rupees resulting the gross profit of 36.9 billion rupees, a gain of 155.7 percent.
The group said its subsidiary EFL did well in the quarter.
“The Air Freight product saw volumes tailing off during the quarter, a result of lower demand witnessed
across our key markets. EFL origins were nonetheless able to augment the sales efforts by ensuring
exceptional service, capacity availability, and transparency,” Group Chief Executive Hanif Yusuf told
shareholders in the quarterly report.
“The Ocean Freight product continued to gain traction and delivered satisfactory growth during the
quarter under review.
Yusuf said whilst focusing primarily on its international freight forwarding business, EFL has been able to enhance its capabilities across domestic logistics portfolio in key locations particularly in the North
America market.
“Global market conditions remained volatile during the period under review. Consumer demand was
tempered in our North America market, a result of potential Inflationary impacts, whilst the global
energy crisis resulted in increased pressure on oil prices. Extended lock downs in China resulted in
reduced supply and further intensified supply chain pressure,” Yusuf said.
“Correction in freight rates were visible across both Air & Ocean Freight as capacity returned to the
market, albeit still at elevated levels.”
“Origins such as Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka continued to deliver strong results,
reflecting the success of the infrastructure investments made into these markets over the last several
years.”
Selling and distribution expenses increased by almost 300 percent to 1.9 billion rupees.
Finance cost increased by 467.6 percent to 552.3 million rupees while the Finance income increased at a
slower 59.5 percent to 40.3 million rupees.
Total assets of the group increased by 16.4 percent to 344.9 million rupees.
Given the uncertain market conditions, the macro environment is expected to evolve, particularly with
changing consumer demand patterns, nimble supply chains and increased digitization (Colombo/July
30/2022)
