Piramal Glass upbeat on export growth if furnace oil prices drop
View(s):Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC says that it can increase its exports if the furnace oil prices come down. ”The cost of furnace oil which is a residual of crude oil is the main energy source in manufacturing glass and it still remains a very grave concern. The price which was set at Rs. 90 per litre in 2012 and which is now at Rs. 80 has not yet been correcte in line with the decreasing world crude oil prices. We can increase our exports if this price is reduced to Rs. 45 per litre,” Sanjay Tiwari, CEO and Managing Director Piramal Glass PLC told the Business Times.
“The company along with the industry has taken up this issue with the present government at various occasions and post budget forums as it is an injustice to the industry.” We appreciate the government’s move towards having a pricing formula for fuel products and hope furnace oil too would be considered under the formula pricing linked with global crude oil price. We’re hopeful that the government will consider reduction in the furnace oil prices to help industry to be competitive in international market hereby increasing exports and generating surplus foreign exchange for country,” he said in a media release.
The company’s exports to USA which started at the beginning of the year have grown by a fair value during the third quarter. “It’s the third largest export base, after India and Australia,” Mr. Tiwari said. The gross Profit for the third quarter at Piramal Glass was Rs. 397 million against Rs. 215 million of the previous year which is the resultant of the increased domestic sales, Mr. Tiwari added noting that in the domestic all segments such as food, beverages, aerated water, agro chemicals have grown. “The positive sentiments that were experienced throughout the year remained during this festive season quarter as well.
All sectors contributed positively whilst food and beverage segment continued to dominate the sale. The domestic sale contributed 78 per cent of the total quarter’s sale as compared to 70 per cent of the previous year same period,he added. Its third Quarter revenue growth of 12 per cent to Rs. 1,778 million from Rs. 1,592 million and Profit after Tax increasing to Rs. 166 million from Rs. 61 million during thesame period last year. The export market supply was restricted to Rs. 387 million as capacity had to be released for the domestic market. The exports were mainly focused towards the niche segment bottles thus ensuring consistent margins, he revealed. (DEC)