Expolanka to expand leisure sector
View(s):Expolanka Holdings PLC (Expo) has set its sights on expanding its leisure sector, officials said. “This is one of our three core areas (the other two being logistics and ‘ventures’). We are trying to expand this sector and now we’re in the stage of planning,” Hanif Yusoof, Group CEO Expo told the Business Times. He said that as an initial step, the company has tentative plans on managing small villas. Expo’s leisure sector recorded revenue Rs. 1.4 billion with a growth of 64 per cent in the first quarter of this financial year in comparison to the corresponding period in the previous year. “The group’s outbound business travel operations recorded positive results, further boosting the healthy growth that the sector continued to show throughout last year, but our Indian outbound operation did not enjoy similar success given challenges on margins and cost increase in operations.
The results were lower than expectation and plans are in place to address low profitability in this business,” Mr. Yusoof has said in his statement adding that as part of the strategy Expo will continue to focus its attention towards growing the leisure sector. Expo’s revenue for the first quarter of the financial year 2016/17 of Rs. 14.6 billion is an increase of 7 per cent over Rs. 13.9 million recorded in the same period last year. The profit attributed to the equity holders for the first quarter of the financial year 2016/17 at Rs. 182 million is down 18 per cent from the corresponding period in the previous financial year, Mr. Yusoof has said. The group profit before tax (PBT) for the first quarter of the financial year 2016/17 at Rs. 378 million, fell 6 per cent over the PBT of Rs. 401 million recorded in the corresponding period in the previous financial year.
The decline in group PBT is mainly on account of the non-cash write down in passive investments held at the group level. However operating profit which excludes other income and finance cost for the quarter at Rs. 400 million recorded a growth of 20 per cent driven by healthy performance in logistic and leisure sector. In the group’s logistics segment, its core markets in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka performed well fueled by the healthy volume growth in US trade lane. Far East businesses such as Indonesia Vietnam and Hong Kong recorded notable performances thereby contributing to the overall growth in the sector, Mr. Yusoof has said adding that cost rationalisation exercises and global procurement efforts conducted over the past few years paid off in boosting the bottom line growth of the sector.