June 15, 2023
The Limners and Bards Limited (LAB) for the six months ended April 30, 2023, reported a 31% decrease in revenue totaling $539.15 million compared to $781.70 million in the corresponding period last year. Revenue for the second quarter had a 14% decrease to close at $291.39 million compared to $338.22 million for the comparable quarter of 2022.
The cost of operating revenue amounted to $346.51 million (2022: 506.87 million), which represents a decrease of 32% year over year. Consequently, gross profit decreased by 30% to $192.64 million compared to $274.83 million for the six months ended April 30, 2022. The company booked a gross profit of $100.63 million for the second quarter versus $132.22 million reported for the similar quarter of 2022.
Selling and distribution increased by 137% to close at $1.51 million (2022: $636,813), while administration increased by 15% from $146.72 million in 2022 to $168.80 million in the period under review. As a result, total operating expenses for the six months ended April 30, 2023, amounted to $170.31 million, a 16% increase relative to the $147.36 million reported in 2022.
Profit before net finance costs and taxation for the six months ended April 30, 2023, amounted to $22.33 million, an 83% decrease relative to the $128.86 million reported in 2022. Profit before net finance costs and taxation for the second quarter amounted to 16.10 million (2022: $59.60 million). Net finance costs totalled $2.39 million, a 63% decrease from the corresponding period last year. (2022: $6.38 million).
Profit before Taxation for the six months ended April 30, 2023, amounted to $19.86 million, an 84% decrease relative to $122.50 million reported in 2022. Profit before taxation for the second quarter amounted to $13.52 million (2022: $54.94 million).
Taxation for the six months ended April 30, 2023, had a 34% decrease to total $435,411 (2022: $658,811). Net profit for the six months amounted to $20.29 million, an 84% decrease from the $123.16 million reported in 2022. For the second quarter, net profit was $13.67 million (2022: $55.60 million).
Consequently, earnings per share for the six months amounted to $0.02 (2022: EPS: $0.13), while earnings per share for the quarter totaled $0.01 (2022: EPS: $0.06). The twelve-month trailing EPS was $0.044, and the number of shares used in these calculations was 945,690,252. Notably, LAB’s stock price closed the trading period on June 14, 2023, at a price of $2.21 with a corresponding P/E ratio of 50.76x.
Balance Sheet Highlights
The company’s assets totaled $893.24 million (2022: $981.73 million). This decline was a result of ‘Accounts Receivable’ declining to $283.79 million (2022: $354.75 million).
Shareholder’s equity was $561.81 million (2022: $590.37 million), representing a book value per share of $0.59 (2022: $0.62).
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