July 29, 2020
Lasco Distributors Limited (LASD), for the three months ended June 30, 2020, posted an 8% increase in revenue to $4.70 billion, up from $4.34 billion booked in the corresponding period in 2019.
Cost of sales amounted to $3.81 billion, up 10% on the $3.47 billion reported in the prior comparable period. Consequently, gross profit recorded 4% increase year over year, closing at $896.24 million compared to the $864.70 million generated for the same period in the prior year.
Other operating income rose by 39% to end the three months closing at $73.14 million relative to $52.66 million in the corresponding period last year.
Operating expenses of $650.84 million were booked for the period, 10% decline from $724.63 million recorded for the comparable period of 2019.
Operating profit increased by 65% to close at $318.53 million for the period under review (2019: $192.76 million) while Finance cost totalled $1.50 million (2019: $5.66 million)
Pre-tax profit amounted to $317.03 million, a 69% increase from the $187.07 million reported in the previous year.
Net profit for the period closed at $258.02 million (2019: $163.91 million), a 57% increase year over year following taxation of $59.01 million (2019: $23.16 million). Additionally, total comprehensive income for the period amounted to $271.36 million relative to $171.01 million booked last year same time.
Earnings per share for the three months ended June 2020, totalled $0.07 versus $0.05 for the corresponding period in 2019. The trailing twelve months EPS is $0.23. The total amount of shares outstanding used for this calculation was 3,508,293,292 units. Notably, LASD’s closed the trading period on July 28, 2020, at $2.92.
LASD stated that, “During the period, there was an increase in demand for our canned food product, flag ship brand- LASCO Food drink and pharmaceutical products. However, there has been a significant reduction in the sales of beverage products due to the closure of schools, hotels, and social gatherings.”
Balance sheet at a glance:
As at June 30, 2020, ‘Total Assets’ amounted to $9.84 billion, 14% more than last year’s $8.60 billion. This increase was due to an increase in ‘Cash and Cash Equivalent’ which closed at $2.47 billion (2019: $956.10 million). ‘Property, plant and equipment’ also contributed to the growth closing at $1.91 billion (2019: $1.89 billion).
Shareholders’ equity amounted to $5.80 billion as at June 2020 (2019: $5.36 billion), reflecting an 8% increase. This translated in a book value per share of $1.65 (2019: $1.53).
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