Hawkins Cooker (508486) Q4 03/04 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY2003-04 marked a turnaround: net profit after tax of Rs 8.0m versus a net loss of Rs 69.1m in FY2002-03.

• Sales including excise duty rose 4.9% to Rs 1,136.1m; sales net of excise duty increased 9.5% to Rs 1,055.5m.

Financial highlights

• Profit before tax was Rs 8.7m versus a loss of Rs 78.4m; profit after tax was Rs 8.0m versus a loss of Rs 69.1m.

• Materials costs were Rs 445.6m versus Rs 441.8m; expenses were Rs 594.3m versus Rs 606.5m, and depreciation was Rs 16.4m versus Rs 16.1m.

• Total expenses excluding excise duty fell Rs 12.2m; interest cost declined 24.2% to Rs 36.7m, while advertising costs fell 25.6% to Rs 67.6m.

Outlook and guidance

• Management said it was positioned to benefit from demand growth and increase market share after reversing the two-year sales decline and restraining costs.

• Cookware supply was expected to keep pace with growing sales after the rebranding disruption; current-year evidence of improved supply was cited.

• Forward-looking expectations were subject to actual developments and results differing from management’s good-faith assessments.