By Shabiya Ali Ahlam
Ceylon Cold Stores PLC (CCS), a unit of John Keels Holdings that has interests in consumer goods, manufacturing and retailing, saw its consolidated net profit for the September quarter (2Q16) swelling by 129 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs.706.4 million, having recorded a revenue of Rs.8.12 billion for the period, up 24 percent yoy.

Accordingly, the basic earnings per share (EPS) improved to Rs.7.43 from Rs.3.24. The top and the bottom lines of the company must have been boosted by the prevailing lower interest rate regime, higher disposable income though recent public sector salary hikes and lower fuel prices. 

The first half year performance (1H2016) too showed impressive performance with the firm recording a 20 percent YoY increase in revenue and a 107 percent increase in net profit to Rs.15.9 billion and Rs.1.25 billion, respectively.  
The profits were also boosted by the sharp drop in finance cost, which contracted by 84 percent YoY from Rs.19.6 million to Rs.3.9 million. 
At the same time, the finance income rose 175 percent to Rs.30.39 million from Rs.11.04 received for the same quarter the previous year. 

For the quarter ended September, manufacturing segment was the key contributor to the company’s bottom line having recorded an after-tax profit of Rs.519.4 million up from Rs.279.1 million yoy. 

The segment’s revenue also increased to Rs.3 billion from Rs.2.36 billion.

The after-tax profits of the retail segment rose to Rs.170.4 million from 48.6 million. The revenue surged to Rs.5.18 billion from Rs.4.25 billion. The percentage of shares held by the public as at 30 September, 2015 was 18.50 percent whereas the number of shareholders was 1, 905, an increase from 1, 899 shareholders as at 30 June 2015.

The top three shareholders for Ceylon Cold Stores are John Keells Holdings (70.61 percent), Whittal Boustead (10.70 percent) and GF Capital Global Limited (2.13 percent).

In a filing to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), the company stated that its board of directors has approved the payment of an interim dividend for the year ending 31 March 2016, of Rs.5 per share to be paid on the 28 October 2015.