Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Sri Lanka' Kegalle Plantations June net down 75-pct

Aug 16, 2011 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's Kegalle Plantations, a mainly rubber farming said profits for the June 2011 quarter fell 75 percent to 30.9 million rupees, from a year earlier and the firm had invested 225 million rupees in a new insurance company.

The estate firm which is a unit of listed Richard Pieris and Company said it had bought a 45 percent stake in Arpico Insurance, a start up insurer for 225 million rupees.

For the June quarter the firm reported earnings of 1.27 rupees per share. The stock closed at 160.40 Monday down 7.40 cents.

Kegalle Plantations said revenues rose 10 percent to 693.5 million rupees in the June 2011 quarter but cost of sales rose 37 percent to 636.4 million rupees shrinking gross profits 66 percent to 57.0 million rupees.

Wages of all plantation workers were raised in June effective from April 2011, plunging tea producing firm into losses, through firms with rubber has fared better.

Kegalle Plantations said a wage increase of 38.9 million rupees and gratuity (a retirement benefit) or 123.4 million rupees was fully charged to the quarterly accounts.

The firm said it earned revenues of 407 million rupees and profits of 109.7 million rupees at pre-tax level from rubber (down from 130 million a year earlier).

It lost and lost 80.5 million rupees from tea on revenues of 251 million rupees against a profit of 24.1 million rupees a year earlier. The firm had revenues of 8.8 million rupees from coconut and profits of 4.0 million rupees.

source - www.lbo.lk

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