Singer records significant growth in 2006 first half

Singer Sri Lanka continued its strong growth trend during the first six months of 2006 recording a 16.5% increase in revenue compared with the corresponding period last year. Revenue increased from Rs. 5,311 million in the first half of 2005 to Rs. 6189.6 million this year.

Describing the revenue growth as "significant", Singer Chairman Hemaka Amarasuriya said the inflationary spiral that is now in our midst hit in mid term, resulting in price hikes accounting for 4.5% of growth, while volume/mix and new products made up the rest. "If not for temporary weaknesses in supply positions, volume growth would have been stronger", he said in his half-yearly review to the shareholders.

During the six-month period, a drop in sales in the Singer retail stores in the North-East has been recorded.

The company attributes this to the prevailing uncertainty in the region which continues to impact consumer behaviour.

Commenting that administrative and selling expenses grew at a faster rate than revenue and gross margins, Amarasuriya said that this was due to the expenses incurred in rolling out a new all encompassing ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system and rapid expansion of the distribution network.

Both these are considered mid to long-term investments that will fuel growth in the coming three years. Just as much as the total revenue has shown a 16.5% growth, the total expenses during the period have also shown an increase of 16.5%.