July 31, 2023
LASCO Distributors Limited (LASD) for the first quarter ended June 30, 2023, reported a 17% increase in revenue totalling $7.31 billion compared to $6.26 billion in the corresponding three months last year. LASD noted “The Strategic Framework continues to be executed consistently and on an accelerated basis, with a clear focus on Nutrition, Hygiene and Healthcare, The company continues to invest in consumer-focused marketing initiatives while increasing its distribution and product availability across all channels. ”
- The Nutrition, Food and Beverage categories continue to perform well, with t he top line performance being driven by both volumes and pricing.
- The Hygiene (Home Care or Personal Care) portfolio delivered growth, with a particularly strong in the Home Care category.
- The healthcare category, achieved growth in the private and government channels, Aligned to the company’s digital transformation agenda; this Division went with its cloud-based Warehouse management system during the quarter and some of the anticipated efficiency improvements are already being seen.
Cost of Sales amounted to $5.98 billion (2022: $5.18 billion), this represents an increase of 15% year over year. Consequently, gross profit increased by 25% to $1.34 billion compared to $1.07 billion for the first quarter ended June 30, 2022.
Operating Expenses for the first quarter amounted to $806.17 million, a 12% increase relative to $718.03 million reported in 2022. LASD noted “ This change was driven mainly by an increase in Sales, promotional and marketing investments and increase insurance premiums.”
Profit from Operations for the three months amounted to $602.10 million, a 57% increase relative to $382.57 million reported in 2022.
Profit before taxation for the first quarter ended June 30, 2023, amounted to $601.98 million, a 57% increase relative to $382.36 million reported in 2022.
Taxation for the three months had a 169% increase to reach $154.40 million (2022: $57.48 million). Net Profit for the three months amounted to $447.58 million, a 38% increase from the $324.89 million reported in 2022.
Total Comprehensive Income for the three months increased by 20% to reach $460.25 million (2022: $383.12 million).
Consequently, Earnings Per Share for the three months amounted to $0.13 (2022: EPS: $0.09). The twelve-month trailing EPS was $0.42, and the number of shares used in these calculations was 3,525,702,702. Notably, LASD’s stock price closed the trading period on July 28, 2023, at a price of $3.79 with a corresponding P/E ratio of 9.05x.
LASD Noted, “ The company intends to accelerate the execution of its strategic framework with additional focus on supporting the recently launched brands, while improving capabilities through its Digital Transformation agenda.”
Balance Sheet Highlights
As at June 30, 2023, ‘Total Assets’ amounted to $13.53 billion, 1% more than last year’s $13.43 billion. This increase was due to an increase in ‘Property, Plant and Equipment’ which closed at $1.95 billion (2022: $1.79 billion). ‘Receivables’ tempered the growth closing at $3.60 billion (2022: $3.72 billion).
Shareholders’ equity amounted to $8.87 billion as at June 30, 2023 (2022: $7.36 billion), reflecting an 21% increase. This translated in a book value per share of $2.53 (2022: $2.10).
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