The Sri Lankan multinational Haycarb PLC reported revenue of Rs. 11.7 billion, profit before tax of Rs. 1,119 million and profit after tax of Rs. 898 million for financial year2015/16. The earnings per share of equity holders of the company was Rs. 22.93 for the year.
The Chairman of Haycarb PLC and its parent company Hayleys PLC, Mr. Mohan Pandithage said that it is noteworthy that the company withstood the challenges in global markets and the raw material supply chain to post a profit before tax of over Rs. 1 billion for the 4th consecutive year, signalling its strong position in the activated carbon industry and purification solutions.
Haycarb PLC Managing Director, Mr. Rajitha Kariyawasan explained that several initiatives were pursued to mitigate the adverse impact of the global market conditions and the supply chain constraints during the year. The change in our distribution and marketing model in the USA, the downturn of the economies and the fluctuation of currencies in the key markets that the company operates in, the continued slow-down in the gold mining industry, low cost competitionfrom manufacturers based in countries such as India,Indonesia &Philippines and the shortage of charcoal supplies notably in Thailand were the key challenges encountered during the year.
He saidthat the two pronged marketing approach of strengthening and restructuring Haycarb’s marketing teams spread across USA, Europe, Australia, Thailand and Indonesia whilst expanding other distribution channels enabled Haycarb to expand its share of existing markets and enter new markets. “Successes in development and commercialization of a number of value added carbon products were encouraging and helped to retain net margins” he added. Lean and cost saving initiatives that generated savings and efficiencies through energy saving projects, waste elimination and automation brought in costsavings and added to the bottom line.
Continued promotion of “Haritha Angara”, the environmentally friendly charcoaling model through financial and technical assistancetogether with the focused expansion of the local collection networksignificantly reduced Haycarb’s dependency on imported raw material in Sri Lanka. Similarly in Thailand, a newly developed environmentally friendly vertical charcoaling kiln facility which is capable of producing and supplying a substantial percentage of our raw material requirements was installed and commissioned during the year.
Mr. Kariyawasan stated that Thailand and Indonesia operations reported notable growth and performance due to increases in energy efficiency, further improvements to the product mix through increased value added products and expansion of kiln/processing capacity.
Commenting on the performance of the Environmental Engineering Company, Puritas (Pvt.) Ltd., he said, “Puritas has posted creditable growth in top and bottom lines with the expansion of its market share in water and waste water treatment systems in Sri Lanka and the Region, especiallyin the Maldives”.
Haycarb remains committed to play a leading role in Puritas Sath Diyawara, which is the flagship CSR initiative of our parent company Hayleys PLC, to provide purified drinking water to families in Chronic Kidney Disease(CKD) affected villages in the North and North Central Provinces in Sri Lanka. We are pleased to report that six additional projects have been completed under the patronage of key sectors of the Hayleys Group, increasing the total Purification Plants commissioned under Puritas Sath Diyawara to 10 projects to date, supplying over 100,000 litres of purified water per day to 20,000 people across 13 villages.
Mr. Kariyawasan stated that the company remains confident of its position of strength and stability in the activated carbon industry, regeneration services and the environmental engineering segment to continue the growth platform in the background of continued global emphasis placed on environmental sustainability, standards and regulations.
Haycarb is the pioneer manufacturer of coconut shell activated carbon in any coconut producing country with manufacturing facilities in Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia supported by marketing offices in the USA, UK and Australia. The company contributes net foreign exchange revenues with its value adding processes and is a leading and technologically superior manufacturer in its chosen segment.
The Board of Directors of Haycarb PLC comprises of Messrs Mohan Pandithage – Chairman, Rajitha Kariyawasan – Managing Director, Dhammika Perera, Arjun Senaratna, Sarath Ganegoda, Ms. Jeevani Abeyratne, Dushantha Ranaraja, Nimal Perera, Dr. Sarath Abayawardana, Sujeewa Rajapakse, M. S. P. Udaya Kumara, Brahman Balaratnarajah, Ms. Sharmila Ragunathan, Ali Caderbhoy and James Naylor.