Access Engineering Concludes FY 20/21 on a High Note with Rs. 2.3 Bn in After Tax Profits
Access Engineering PLC, the foremost civil engineering company of Sri Lanka, released its interim financial statements for the 12 months ended 31st March 2021 to Colombo Stock Exchange recently. Accordingly the company and the Group have recorded an after tax profit of Rs. 1,053 Mn and Rs. 911 Mn respectively for the 4th quarter indicating a faster and a healthy recovery of operations despite the lingering impacts of the pandemic. Group after tax profits for the 12 months stood at Rs. 2,180 Mn. Similar to group performance, company performance for the 12 months was also impressive with an after tax profits of Rs. 2,330 Mn corresponding to a YoY growth of 20.9%. Gross profit for the quarter was recorded at Rs. 1.38 Bn & Rs. 1.06 Bn at Group & Company level respectively with corresponding margins of 18.2% & 14.6%. For the cumulative period gross margin was recorded at 17.6% & 13.3% at Group & Company level respectively.
Despite some of the sectors recording revenue decreases during the quarter, the increase in sales of construction related materials, accounted for the good performance of the company. Core construction activities, property sector and the automobile sector recorded YoY decreases in revenue during the quarter amounting to approximately 0.2%, 18.8% and 24.7% respectively. Nevertheless this decrease was offset by a substantial growth in the sale of construction related material during the quarter. Growth in construction related materials of the Company was primarily driven by the ever increasing demand for asphalt. This demand is primarily driven by the rural road network development plans of the country along with ADB and World Bank funded road development program. Today Access Engineering is Sri Lanka’s largest asphalt producer with a commanding market share and plants located in strategic locations island wide.
Company’s core construction activities amounting to Rs. 12,898 Mn contributed to 54.3% of the group’s consolidated revenue with construction related material contributing to 26.7% (Rs. 6,335 Mn), property 2.9% (Rs. 678 Mn) & automobile 16.2% (Rs. 3,840) during the 12 months period. Main local construction projects executed by the company during the quarter included the Orugodawatta Housing Project, Anuradhapura Water Supply Project, Bluemendhal Housing Project, Nanotechnology Building Project, Nittambuwa Pasyala Road Project, Stadiumgama Housing Project, i – Road project and the Elliot Place Building Project. During the quarter the company also commenced the preliminary work of the BIA piling project and design development of the multistory car park project at Union Place Colombo 02. During the quarter the company also invested in 50% of Lanka AAC (Pvt.) Ltd. which is engaged in the production of autoclave aerated concrete blocks.
Persisting import restrictions continued to hinder the performance of the automobile sector during last quarter. Due to the restriction imposed on vehicle imports, the lack of new vehicle sales, which used to be the majority of the income of this sector created a direct hit to the sector’s top bottom line. Nevertheless the workshop operations and sale of spare parts showed a good improvement, assisting to pull through performance of the said sector.
Capital Heights Rajagiriya and Marina Square Colombo which are the two main mix development projects of Access Engineering performed satisfactorily during the quarter securing the intended pre-sales targets. At the end of the FY 20/21 Capital Heights Rajagiriya was approximately 92% completed. The project is expected to be handed over to the owners during 21/22 FY. Marina Square Colombo is in the process of completion of structural works up to the podium levels. Access Tower I & II, which are in the business of office and commercial space leasing experienced good occupancy rates. Despite the pandemic, this sector’s performance recorded satisfactory results.
Access Engineering declared a second interim dividend of Rs. 0.50 per share amounting to Rs. 500 Mn for the year ended 31st March 2021 making the total dividend declared for the financial year a Rs. 1 Bn. As at 31st March 2021, the total asset base of the company amounted to Rs 42.35 Bn and Rs 55.88 Bn at Company and Group level respectively. The equity attributed to the owners of the company was recorded at Rs 23.6 Bn at the Group level while it was Rs 22.4 Bn at Company level. Net asset per share of the Group and Company as at 31st March 2021 stood at Rs. 23.58 and Rs. 22.4 respectively.
The Board of Directors of Access Engineering PLC comprises of Sumal Perera (Chairman), Christopher Joshua (Managing Director), Rohana Fernando (COO), Shevantha Mendis, Dharshana Munasinghe, Dilhan Perera, Shamal Perera, Ranjan Gomez, Professor Malik Ranasinghe, Niroshan Gunaratne and Dinesh Weerakkody.