Trident (TRIDENT) Q4 1999 earnings summary

Executive summary

• 1999 turnover was Rs 18,486.09 lacs, versus Rs 8,049.19 lacs in 1998; current-year figures include the merged entity, while prior-year figures cover the Yarn Division only.

• Expansion and the merger added yarn processing and terry towel manufacturing, extending operations from cotton yarn into value-added products.

Financial highlights

• Profit before interest, depreciation and taxes was Rs 3,992.37 lacs, versus Rs 912.39 lacs; interest was Rs 2,566.23 lacs and depreciation Rs 1,870.49 lacs.

• Loss before tax was Rs 444.35 lacs, versus Rs 216.31 lacs; loss after prior-period items and earlier-year depreciation was Rs 502.44 lacs.

• Net cash used in operating activities was Rs 1,746.95 lacs; investing activities used Rs 3,517.95 lacs, funded partly by Rs 4,215.80 lacs of net borrowing proceeds.

Outlook and guidance

• 2000 projections: Yarn Division sales Rs 18,610.85 lacs, gross profit Rs 3,962.46 lacs and net profit Rs 1,454.88 lacs; Terry Towel sales Rs 16,485.26 lacs, gross profit Rs 4,381.44 lacs and net profit Rs 1,219.93 lacs.

• Planned investments include Rs 600 lacs to expand combed-yarn capacity and Rs 562 lacs to raise fabric-dyeing capacity from 5.5 to 10.5 tonnes per day.

• 2000 priorities include aggressive marketing, cost reduction, consistent quality, team building and better capacity utilization.