Showcasing its dominant market leadership and brand equity, the Singer Group yesterday announced a post-tax-profit of Rs. 2.61 billion for FY 2020/21 from Rs. 427.27 million achieved in the previous year.
The Group also reported a profit-before-tax of Rs. 3.82 billion, a six-fold increase, compared to 2020/21.
Singer Group’s revenue increased by 23% to Rs. 67.41 billion, reflecting a strong growth across key product categories across all channels.
Top line growth coupled with continuous focus on driving operational excellence, digitalisation and efficient working capital management resulted in Group’s operating profit increasing by 31% to Rs. 5.38 billion during the year.
The Group’s financial position also strengthened during the year, driven by a consistent growth in asset base and a considerable decline in borrowings.
As Sri Lanka’s leading consumer durables retailer, the Group has been quick to respond to an unprecedented demand for digital adoption by expanding its range of digital devices including laptops, tablets and smart phones which were amply made available to the consumers by leveraging on the island-wide branch network.
The Group’s Consumer Durables, Home Appliances and Agro product portfolio also witnessed a steady growth especially during the second half of the financial year with the gradual opening up of the country. The Group’s e-commerce platform also performed exceedingly well during the year, in line with the exponential growth in online platforms.
During the year under review company was successful in augmenting its product offering and successfully uplifted the after-sales service standards whilst being able to improve the speed to market.
The Group’s robust performance together with the sustainability of its future cashflows secured a multi-notch rating upgrade in Fitch Ratings. Accordingly, the Group’s credit rating was upgraded to AA (lka) from BBB+ (lka) and the outlook was rated as stable.
Commenting on the Group’s performance, Group Chief Executive Officer Mahesh Wijewardene said, “Despite the disruptions and unprecedented uncertainty presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the tenacity and enterprising spirit of Team Singer propelled the organisation to achieve excellent financial results. As we move forward, we are excited about actioning the strategic initiatives which were crafted with lot of deliberation and looking forward for the rolling out of Group’s rebranding exercise which is expected to evolve us into a future-fit brand with a solid foundation in trust, partnership and stability.”
Singer commenced business in Sri Lanka in 1877 and today the Singer Group is the undisputed market leader in consumer durables, manufacturing, retailing, and financing for a wide array of products. The Company operates an unmatched network of 430 retail stores across the island while pursuing growth through its new e-commerce platform. Customer reach is facilitated through an extensive network of over 2,800 dealers/sub retailers.
Singer is renowned for its after-sales service network with 14 Regional Service Centres supported by over 300 service agents. In addition to its household brands, the company is also an exclusive distributor for many globally reputed consumer durable brands. The shares of the company are publicly traded on the Colombo Stock Exchange.
The Board of Directors of Singer (Sri Lanka) PLC comprises Mohan Pandithage – Chairman, Dhammika Perera – Co-Chairman, Mahesh Wijewardene – Group Chief Executive Officer, Deepal Sooriyaarachchi, Dumith Fernando, M.H. Jamaldeen, Sarath Ganegoda, Dilip de S. Wijeyeratne and Gayani De Alwis.
