Trident Ltd., the flagship company of the $1 billion Trident Group and a leading manufacturer and exporter of textiles & paper products, has reported net revenue at Rs. 931.3 crores in the third quarter ended December 31, 2014, compared to Rs. 1,020.9 crores in Q3 FY14. Net sales declined due to lower yarn realizations. De-growth from yarn was partly mitigated by increased terry towel offtake.
EBITDA moderated to Rs. 159.5 crores from Rs. 183.6 crores in Q3 FY14. EBIDTA margins stood at 17.1 per cent vis-à-vis 18 per cent due to declining spreads in yarn business. This was partially offset by improved margins in terry towel business.
The company repaid 4.5 per cent of the outstanding term loans amounting to Rs. 79.9 crores during the quarter. Outstanding term debt as on December 31, 2014, stood at Rs. 1,784.1 crores.
PAT stood at Rs. 24.1 crores vis-à-vis Rs. 50.9 crores. Cash profits were at Rs. 103.4 crores against Rs. 118.5 crores in Q3 FY14. Cash EPS, both diluted & non-annualized, stood at Rs. 2.16.
A second interim dividend of Re. 0.30 (three per cent) per share of Rs. 10 has been announced.
Commenting on the performance, Mr. Rajinder Gupta, Trident Group Chairman, said: “Trident continues to make progress on several strategic initiatives undertaken over the last couple of quarters. The results in Q3 are a reflection of the challenges faced by the textile industry in terms of volatile cotton costs vis-à-vis lower yarn realizations which impacted earnings. Now, with new cotton available at lower levels, we expect margins to normalize from Q4 onwards. Besides, our focus on the Home Textiles division will further accentuate our ability in mitigating the volatility impact on the business. The outlook remains robust given improved consumption trend and our focus on brand awareness and introduction of new products. Increased penetration in the domestic markets, combined with enhanced utilization rates from new capacities, would further aid growth and profitability. These, combined with measures to strengthen our balance sheet and prudent financial management, should hold us in good stead to further consolidate our position in the industry and enable us to deliver sustainable financial performance going forward.”
Segmental overview
In textiles, topline stood at Rs. 731.3 crores compared to Rs. 805 crores in the corresponding quarter last year. Declining yarn realizations moderated topline growth, partly offset by growth in terry towels.
EBITDA margin in the Textiles Division improved to 15.5 per cent from 14.5 per cent. This was on account of healthy margins in terry towels.
In paper & chemicals, topline stood at Rs. 199.6 crores vis-à-vis Rs. 215.4 crores in Q3 FY14. EBITDA margin improved by 80 bps to 28 per cent as compared to the same quarter the previous year.