Cargills Ceylon nearly doubles profits in 3Q on robust retail and FMCG operations

Cargills Ceylon PLC, which runs the country’s largest privately owned supermarket chain, almost doubled its net profit in the December quarter (3Q21) amid strong sales, as consumer demand improved.

The group reported Rs.30.7 billion sales in the three months to December 2020 (3Q21), up 10 percent from the same period last year.

However, the group’s restaurant business saw lower revenue and profits with people staying away from eating out due to the fear of contracting 
COVID-19 virus.

The group’s restaurant business with its KFC and TGI Fridays’ franchises managed revenues of Rs.895.4 million in the three months compared to Rs.1.18 billion in the comparable period a year ago. 

The group’s retail business with 400 outlets generated revenues of Rs.24.6 billion for the quarter under review compared to Rs.21.9 billion in the comparable period of the previous year.
The group’s FMCG business, which has an array of products from frozen meat products to dairy to confectionaries, recorded Rs.5.1 billion revenue compared to Rs.4.8 billion. 

The group reported earnings of Rs.3.98 a share or Rs.1.02 billion compared to Rs.2.15 a share or Rs.553.5 million in the same period last year, recording a robust 85 percent growth. 
Cargills paid an interim dividend of Rs.1.90 a share for the financial year ended March 31, 2020 on January 6, 2021. 

The net finance cost of the group slipped by around 4.0 percent to Rs.650.9 million from a year ago despite the group recording fresh borrowings of about Rs.3.7 billion since March 2020. 
The group appears to be taking more supplier credit for the management of its liquidity as the trade and other payables have risen by Rs.2.7 billion in the nine months since March 2020.
Cargills Ceylon promoters, CT Holdings PLC owns 70 percent stake in Cargills Ceylon. The Employees’ Provident Fund has 3.27 percent stake being its third largest shareholder.

NDB Wealth Growth and Income Fund and Sri Lanka Insurance Corporations’ Life Fund have entered the company’s top 20 shareholders list by December 31, 2020 with 0.30 percent and 0.24 percent stakes respectively.