Consolidated Bakeries Miss Birdie Easter bun.
Consolidated Bakeries profit dropped sharply for the March 2019 quarter as the company suffered an estimated $50 million shift in some Easter sales coming in April compared to March in 2018.
Quite a bit of Easter bun sales will show up in the second quarter and should help to boost the quarter and half year the profit.
Unaudited financial statements, showed profit declined sharply by 34 percent to $13.5 million in the March 2019 quarter from $20 million after tax in the 2018 first quarter.
Revenues increased marginally to $273.6 million for the 2019 quarter from $271 million in 2018 but the shift in Easter to mid- April affected sales. Direct operating cost rose 2 percent to $161 million, resulting in gross profit ending at $112 million similar to that of 2018, but gross profit margin slipped slightly, to a still healthy 41 percent compared to 42 percent for the same period last year.
For the quarter, administrative and other expenses moved up 3 percent to $50 million, depreciation was flat at $7.5 million while Finance cost declined 14 percent to $2.8 million compared to the 2018 March quarter.
Earnings per share came out at 6 cents for the March 2019 quarter, down from 9 cents for the corresponding quarter in 2018. IC Insider.com forecast 25 cents in earnings per share for 2019 as sales rise in double digits going forward and that should provide a decent lift for the stock price that has languished around the $2 mark for a long time. The stock traded at $1.80 on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange with a PE ratio of 7 times 2019 earnings.
Gross cash flow, brought in $23 million but growth in inventories and receivables, purchase of fixed assets, reduced cash funds of net of overdraft at $46 million at the beginning of the year to $24 million at the end of March. Shareholders’ equity stood at $733 million with borrowings at $167 million. Net current assets ended the period at $114 million inclusive of trade and other receivables of $112 million, as well as cash and equivalents of $79 million. The company ended the quarter with current liabilities of $185 million.
