Haycarb's PBT Rs 535 m

Haycarb PLC has reported a revenue growth of 25 percent to Rs 5.9 billion for the nine months ending December 31, 2011, with stable demand for the company's product portfolio supported by improvements in the global marketing, manufacturing and supply chain activities.

In the results filed with the Colombo Stock Exchange, the Hayleys Group's top notch activated carbon and solutions business reported a profit before tax of Rs 535 million and a profit after tax of Rs 441 million for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2011.

Significant investments in working capital to build up its charcoal inventory that helped to stabilize charcoal prices and improvements in manufacturing efficiencies along with improved prices in the product portfolio, enabled Haycarb PLC to improve margins in the third quarter of 2011-12.

Haycarb Managing Director Rajitha Kariyawasan said the consolidated profit figures for the nine months reflected a substantially improved position over that of the first six months of the year.

"Demand for our products remain strong despite the negative outlook in a number of key international markets, especially in Europe," he said.