JAT Holdings 1H revenue up 73%; PAT by over Rs. 400 m

JAT Holdings Founder and MD Aelian Gunawardene

JAT Holdings Chief Executive Officer Nishal Ferdinando

In its maiden earnings release since its IPO, JAT Holdings PLC has announced that it recorded the best first half performance in the history of the company in FY 2021/22. 

Group Revenue for the period was Rs. 3,129 million, against Rs. 1,809 million during the corresponding period in the year prior. Group PAT was a record Rs. 400 million for the 1H of FY 2021/22, compared with a Rs. 21 million loss of the corresponding period in the prior year largely due to the pandemic and Rs. 600 million for the whole of FY 2020/21. 

In a statement JAT said the paint industry was a seasonal business that was skewed heavily towards the second half, historically, with the company having a 30:70 PAT split between the 1H and 2H. 

“These record-breaking figures come despite JAT’s primary markets, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, experiencing challenging economic environments due to COVID lockdowns and other restrictions during one third of the period under review,” JAT said.  Its Bangladesh operations generated a turnover of Rs. 816 million in 1H against Rs. 73 million a year ago which resulted in a growth of 1018%, against a total turnover for the whole of FY 2020/21 of Rs. 541 million. Export turnover, as a percentage of total Group turnover, for the period under review, stood at 27%, highlighting the company’s capacity to generate healthy foreign currency earnings. Furthermore, this figure demonstrates JAT’s strong market position in Bangladesh.

JAT Holdings CEO Nishal Ferdinando said: “We are pleased to report to our shareholders that JAT Holdings is delivering exceptional value, and remains committed to achieving our targeted PAT of Rs. 1.2 billion this year. We have already achieved Rs. 400 million of this target during 1H, the best in the history of the company.” 

“These results were achieved amidst the most challenging conditions, which are now beginning to ease off. Furthermore, gross profit margins in our Bangladesh business were maintained at 19%, along with huge revenue growth, which we anticipate to be sustained through the rest of the year. Thus, we expect that easing restrictions, coupled with seasonal demand, will enable us to achieve the Group PAT targets we have set,” Ferdinando added.

Keeping investors abreast of the progress of IPO-related investment priorities, JAT Managing Director Aelian Gunawardene said: “The production facility for our proposed Bangladesh plant has been successfully secured, with interior work now in progress, while the machinery has been ordered and shipped out.” 

“The land for the company’s proposed R&D centre has also been successfully acquired, plans have been drawn up, laboratory setup finalised and orders for instruments have already been placed. The recruitment process for the R&D centre has also commenced, with expert scientists having already been signed on. We take this opportunity to once again thank our investors for the confidence and trust they have placed in us,” Gunawardene added.

JAT has recruited an overseas market expert as Director – International Business Development who will overlook the sales and market expansion operations in Africa. Significant progress has also been made in the marketing and development efforts of JAT Holding’s flagship decorative line of products, WHITE By JAT, utilising funds secured at the IPO; the product line is on track towards exceeding set targets with steady growth in both online and retail platforms.