Group net profit grew by 403% YoY to Rs. 669 million.
Subsidiary Singer Finance’s Initial Public Offering smashed Sri Lankan stock market records by being 134 times oversubscribed, the highest ever oversubscription recorded upto that date.
Reviewing its performance, Singer Group CEO Asoka Peiris noted that 2010 was a year of significant progress with “Singer driving some of market place changes.”
The Group reaped substantial benefits in 2010 from its support of LCD and LED TVs and affordable laptop computers. Although the Group markets and sells a wide range of international brands, including, for the first time in Sri Lanka, Skyworth-branded TVs, Singer LCD TVs and laptops outperformed all other brands.
Singer Sri Lanka has also tied up with supermarkets to offer consumer durable products alongside fast moving consumer goods. Noting the success of its modern trade channels, Singer Mega and Singer Homes, Group Chairman Hemaka Amarauriya said that with the growth rate of the upper and middle-classes “expected to increase to double digits this year, modern trade growth is now visible across supermarkets, department stores, and malls.”
Agro and domestic pumps experienced a 71% increase in volume and furniture (44%).
New products rolled out at Singer retail outlets include digital cameras and 3D televisions. The Group has also reintroduced mobile phones to its product mix. The Group also expanded its financial services range by adding five new utility and credit card companies to its Easy Pay facility.
The company also added to its educational offerings in 2011, opening the first Singer IT Academy in December. The Group’s understanding of new technologies is evident in its implementation of an online, real-time ERP system, which optimizes inventory management and enhances assets control. Singer has also expanded its consumer durables distribution network by launching new shops in Akkaraipathu, Chavakachcheri, and Vavuniya, and also strengthening its wholesale network.
For the 6th consecutive year Singer won the “Brand of the Year” award based on the poll conducted by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing and A.C. Nielson. Singer also won the “Consumer Durable Brand of the Year” and “Youth Brand of the Year”awards as well.
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