Lanka Ashok Leyland PAT surges 112% to Rs 504 mn in 2017/18 | Daily News

Lanka Ashok Leyland PAT surges 112% to Rs 504 mn in 2017/18

CEO – Lanka Ashok Leyland PLC, Umesh Gautam
CEO – Lanka Ashok Leyland PLC, Umesh Gautam

Lanka Ashok Leyland ended the fiscal year with a turnover of Rs 15.6 billion, a 36% increase over 2016.

Gross profit rose 15% to Rs 1.27 billion, a margin contraction driven by higher cost of sales associated with the launch of newer technologically superior BS3 compliant vehicles with ABS Brakes. Against a decline in the gross profit margin, Lanka Ashok Leyland compensated with a 21% decline in operational costs to Rs 418 million from Rs. 532 million in 2016 highlighting the success of the prudent fiscal management throughout the year.

Despite relatively high interest rates prevailing and net borrowing increasing, Lanka Ashok Leyland was able to reduce net finance cost by 49% YoY to Rs 46 million. These operational efficiencies boosted the company’s bottom line as profit after tax surged 112% to Rs 504 million for 2017/18. “The overwhelming majority of our turnover comes from our vehicle sales however we have made inroads in improving contributions from our other verticals like repair work, bodybuilding, generators and spare parts. We see great revenue potential in our leasing and hiring and are looking at including it under our top line in the near future. We remain cautiously optimistic for 2018/19,” CEO of Lanka Ashok Leyland, Umesh Gautam, said.

Aside from the financial performance and handsomely rewarding the shareholders, Identifying investments and initiatives in healthcare such as cancer diagnosis where the state is overburdened or underfunded can go a long way in sustainably improving the healthcare choices for Sri Lankans.

Gautam is strongly of the view that CSR initiative of Lanka Ashok Leyland should be as ambitious in vision and impact as our business strategy. “We are in the early stages of looking to a major investment in a healthcare solution around cancer screening in Sri Lanka which will be a milestone CSR project for us.” 

 


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