Beta Glass rode on domestic sales in the first three months of this year to report a 15 percent increase in profit after tax. The increase came in spite of a 1 percent decline in sales which fell slightly to N7.07 billion in Q1 2020 as against N7.15 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2019. The company during the quarter implemented some cost cutting measures which paid off in the form of higher profit after tax.
Domestic customers bought N6.88 billion worth of products representing 97 percent of the total sales in Q1 2020. In the first quarter of 2019, the N6.7 billion sales represented 94 percent of the total sales for the quarter. On the contrary, exports fell by 58 percent to N185.11 million in the last quarter, as against N438.86 million in the corresponding quarter in 2019.
Cost of sales which stood at N5.52 billion in the first quarter of 2019 was reduced by 7 percent to N5.12 billion in Q1 2020. At end of the quarter, Beta Glass obtained a cost to revenue ratio of 73 percent in contrast to 77 percent in March 2019.
Operating profit for the period was N1.60 billion, representing 10 percent rise in the quarterly profit when compared with N1.45 billion in Q1 2019. The increase in operating profit was despite a 40 percent rise in administrative expenses which surged to N386.15 million compared with N275.4 million in the first quarter of last year.
Expectedly, finance cost rose by 43 percent during the first quarter of this year to N77.7 million up from N54.5 million in similar period in 2019. Mid in 2019, the firm took up $30 million facilities which are expected to cause an increase in its finance cost. The facilities are meant to increase its capacity to 35,000 tons annually.
Beta Glass belongs to Frigoglass Group and it owned by Frigoglass Industries (Nigeria) Limited, 61.88 percent; Frigoinvest Holdings BV, 8.17 percent , and Stanbic IBTC Nominees Nigeria Limited, 6.27 percent.
In the 2019 financial year, Beta Glass recommended N1.67 per share as the final dividend. It closed last week Thursday at N70 per share having gained 30.1 percent year to date.
TELIAT SULE
