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Major supermarket chain, the RB Patel Group Limited (RBGL) has predicted a tough trading environment ahead caused mainly by rising inflation.
Announcing the group’s latest financial results, an after-tax profit of $5.68 million for the 15-month period ended June 30 2009, RBGL chairman Isoa Kaloumaira said while the results were pleasing against the current economic conditions, the future trading environment looked “very challenging”.
“Competition for customers is now intensifying while disposable income continues to fall against an inflationary environment,” Kaloumaira said.
The Reserve Bank of Fiji said this week it expected inflation to peak at around 12 percent next April, a year after the 20 percent devaluation of the Fiji dollar in April this year. It predicted inflation would settle at around two percent by next year-end.
Kaloumaira said RBGL would continue to look at opportunities to create shareholder value from both organic growth and new ventures. It had acquired a new site in the greater Suva area for future expansion, he said.
The group’s $5.68 million after-tax profit compared with an after tax figure of $4.27 million for the previous financial year.
Compared with the results for the 12-month period ended March 31 2008, growth in sales in the 15-month 2009 period went from 4.9 percent in the 2008 financial year to 35.3 percent in the latest period.
Profit before-tax increased from $6.175 million to $7.964 million.
Kaloumaira said the financial performance continued a trend of steady growth in both revenue and profits.
The company also declared a final interim dividend of 3 cents per share payable on August 28, bringing the dividend declared per share for the current period to 14 cents and the total dividend to $900,000.
RBGL shares are currently trading at $1.84 on the South Pacific Stock Exchange.
