With growth in consolidated revenue, diversified conglomerate Sunshine Holdings PLC reported a resilient financial performance in the first quarter of the 2015/16 financial year (1QFY16), amidst challenging conditions particularly for the group’s Agri sector.
According to figures released to the Colombo Stock Exchange, (CSE) for the quarter ended June 30, 2015, Sunshine Holdings’ consolidated revenue expanded 4.9% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs. 4.2 billion, while Profit After Tax and Minority Interest (PATMI) grew at 10.8% YoY to Rs. 162 million..
Reflecting broad-based growth, all sectors except Agri business contributed to top-line growth with Healthcare, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Packaging and Renewable Energy sectors all reporting substantial improvements. Healthcare revenue for the quarter grew 17.5% YoY to Rs. 1.7 billion, and the FMCG sector’s revenue too stood at Rs. 685 million for 1QFY16, up 16.3% YoY.
However, weak market conditions for both tea and rubber negatively impacted the Agri sector (represented by Watawala Plantations PLC) and resulted in a 3.7% YoY contraction of group Profit After Tax (PAT) to Rs. 314 million. Due to the lower effective holdings however, the Agriculture and FMCG sectors’ performance had a lower impact on PATMI.
"Amidst challenging conditions particularly for the Agri sector, Sunshine Holdings takes pride in this resilient performance and particularly the robust performances of our relatively new interests in Packaging and Renewable Energy," Sunshine Holdings PLC Group Managing Director, Vish Govindasamy said. "With greater contributions from these sectors, we can achieve greater diversification which augurs well for the group’s long-term performance."
In Healthcare, the Pharma sub segment (66.5% of Healthcare revenue) grew 16.7% YoY over 1QFY15, despite contraction in the overall market as per IMS data. Growth in other sub sectors were as follows: Surgical (+8.6% YoY), Retail (+12.9% YoY), Diagnostics (+40.6% YoY), Wellness (-1.8% YoY), respectively. PAT for Healthcare amounted to Rs. 85 million in 1QFY16, up 14.3% YoY.
In the FMCG sector, the branded tea business sold 703,000 kg of tea, up 8.5% YoY, primarily driven by its flagship brand ‘Watawala Tea’, the number one tea brand in Sri Lanka. PAT from the FMCG segment grew 181.7% YoY, to stand at Rs. 82 million in 1QFY16, with a substantially improved margin of 12.0%, compared to 4.9% in the same period last year.
The Agri sector, represented by Watawala Plantations PLC (WATA), saw its revenue contract by 10.4% YoY to Rs. 1.7 billion on the back of an 18.8% YoY contraction of revenue from tea, despite the palm oil sub sector reporting a 24.4% YoY increase in 1QFY16. The growth in top-line is below management expectations due to weak market conditions for both tea and palm oil, but this was somewhat cushioned by higher volumes in palm oil (+34.7% YoY), resulting from good agri practices. Volumes for tea contracted 24.8% YoY, by design due to curtailment of bought crop in a declining market.
PAT for 1QFY16 amounted to Rs. 131 million, against Rs. 231 million in the same period last year. The dip in profits can be primarily attributed to tea, which recorded a net loss of Rs. 137 million for 1QFY16, compared to a profit of Rs. 32 million in the same quarter last year. The palm oil segment, which made Rs. 277 million PAT for 1QFY16, continued to be the largest contributor to Watawala Plantations’ profits and managed to cover the losses in both tea and rubber.
Packaging revenues amounted to Rs. 95 million, up 13.5% YoY in 1QFY16.
- Sunshine Holdings PLC
Courtesy: The Island 18 August 2015