Lasco Manufacturing‘s performance for the June 2023 quarter was subdued, with pretax profit rising a respectable 28 percent to $721 million and by 27 percent after tax to $526 million versus $414 million in 2022 from revenues of $2.83 billion, 7 percent more than 2022 sales of $2.6 billion, but that was slower growth than the profit for the 2023 fiscal year that jumped 37 percent after tax to $2 billion from revenues that rose 19 percent to $11.24 billion.
The 2023 full year results reflect a greater level of rebound from the declines suffered following the fallout in the economy as a result of the advent of covid-19 and, in particular, the fallout in the global market with higher input costs that flowed from supply disruptions as well as tourism sector that were still recovering during the 2023 fiscal year that ended in March.
Helped by a reduction in the cost of inputs, the cost of goods sold rose well below the growth in revenues by just 3 percent to $1.76 billion from $1.7 billion in 2022 and gross profit rose 19 percent to $1.07 billion from $898 million. Administrative costs rose 8 percent from $332.4 million to $360 million. Depreciation slipped 2 percent to $66.7 million, while finance cost was negligible at just $3 million.
The operations generated gross cash flow of $775 million, which grew to $960 million after movements in working capital.
Current assets ended the period at $9 billion inclusive of trade and other receivables of $2.77 billion, down from $3.35 billion in 2022 and Investment and bank balances of $4.1 billion, up from $1.8 billion in 2022.
Lasco’s ICool drinks.
Current liabilities ended the period at $1.68 billion. Net current assets ended the period at $7.38 billion, up from $5.25 billion in 2022.
At the end of June, shareholders’ equity amounts to $11.65 billion, up from $9.5 billion in 2022, with borrowings at just $122 million.
Earnings per share for the quarter was 13 cents, while a dividend of 12 cents per share was paid in July, totalling $490 million. The company usually pays one dividend per annum, so this is likely to be the last payment until 2024, but with profits on the rise, the next payment seems set to be increased.
IC Insider.com computation projects earnings of 70 cents per share for the fiscal year ending March 2024, with a PE of 7.4 times the current year’s earnings based on the price of $5.35, the stock traded recently on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market. The PE compares favourably with an average of 11 for the Junior Market, an indication that the stock price will be heading higher going forward. Net asset value ended the period at $2.83, with the stock selling at just under twice book value.