Hemas Group records Rs.336m profit in first half 2005

Hemas Holdings Ltd, group has recorded a turnover of Rs. 4,723 million and a net profit of Rs. 336 million. 'It should be noted that part of this growth is attributed to the inclusion of Power Sector which was not operational during the first six months of the previous year compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year, however, net profits were down marginally by 1.0%.

This is attributed mainly to the poor performance of the Leisure Sector and planned maintenance impacting Power results for the quarter" said Chief Executive Officer Husein Esufally.

The FMCG sector posted a better-than-expected performance for the six month period, with revenues growing by 7.9% and profits growing by 22.5%. Like-for-like revenue growth (excluding P&G business) was a healthy 27%. Volumes have been helped by stronger rural demand whilst a stable rupee has helped stabilise prices of branded consumer goods.

In Personal Care, our largest segment, we have done well on top of a growing market. 'Velvet' has boosted our share in the personal wash segment and we now hold an 8% value share in the toilet soap category".

The healthcare sector performed well with a net profit for the period of Rs. 53 Mn, posting a growth of 25.6% over the previous year. Plans to set up our own operations in the Maldives have now been finalised and would commence in November 2005.

In October this year the sector made a strategic acquisition of a 25% stake in e-Channelling, where it sees an opportunity to leverage its strengths to help transform the Company from an electronic channelling facilitator to a fully fledged healthcare solutions provider," he said.

The transportation sector has performed well with a year-to-date net Profit of Rs 53mn, which reflects a 52% growth over the previous year. The post-tsunami recovery in tourism has been slower than anticipated, and the low-occupancies prevailing in resort hotels have impacted results with losses for the quarter being Rs 19 Mn, taking the total sector loss for the six months to Rs 46 Mn.

The power plant continues to operate satisfactorily with around 94% capacity utilisation since commissioning. This is considerably higher than the minimum guaranteed level of 80%. The first of Project Genesis, the implementation of SAP R/3 across all Hemas companies was concluded on schedule during the first week of October 2005.