Hayleys Fibre posts Rs 30.7 m PBT

Hayleys Fibre PLC, formerly known as Hayleys Exports, a global player in the natural fibre products market, recorded a commendable performance in the financial year 2012/2013.

Despite a drop in turnover to Rs. 487 million during the year from Rs. 595 million in the previous financial year, due largely to consolidation of operations and a moving away from non-value generating product portfolios, the company posted a Profit Before Tax of Rs. 30.7 million, compared to a Loss Before Tax of Rs. 7.2 million in 2011/2012.

In a filing to the Colombo Stock Exchange, Hayleys Fibre reported a PAT of Rs. 26.1 million, and an appreciation in Earnings Per Share to Rs 3.24 from a Deficit Per Share of Re. 1.00 in the previous financial year.

Managing Director, Hayleys Fibre, Prasanna de Silva said, “The turnaround is largely attributable to our focus during the year to consolidate operations from three manufacturing facilities to one, thereby benefitting from leaner production, associated efficiencies, synergised use of resources and better controls.”

During the period, Hayleys Fibre moved away from a number of traditional product segments due to their negligible contribution to profitability.

“We have developed a number of variations to our existing product range in 2012/2013 and have a number of patents pending for our innovations,” said de Silva.

However, the company continued to grapple with challenges posed by a constrained global economy, with many of its traditional markets in Europe and the United States demonstrating declining demand. De Silva is confident of the company's ability to develop on the turnaround demonstrated during the year.

“A number of breakthrough innovations is undergoing testing with the support of external technical partners," he said.