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Pent-up demand for its two core products, refrigerator and air conditioner, led the recovery
Walton, a household name for household appliances, saw its profit soar 43.7 per cent to Tk 273.2 crore between October and December of last year, in what can be viewed as quite the turnaround for the homegrown electronics giant.
In the previous quarter, the company’s profit declined 12 per cent year-on-year to Tk 401.7 crore, as sales did not see a surge straightaway with the reopening of the economy on May 30 after a two-and-a-half-month-long shutdown to slow the spread of coronavirus.
The shutdown left Walton — which manufactures a mindboggling array of gadgets ranging from mobile phones to laptops, washing machines to microwave ovens, blender to gas stoves, electric fans to LED bulbs — with a missed quarter of sales, leaving the company with 47.2 per cent lower profit for the 2019-20 financial year that ended on June 30 last year.
The rally in the December quarter was led by sales of refrigerator and air conditioner, which account for about 80 per cent of Walton’s profit.
Sales of the two appliances soared 31.2 per cent to Tk 804.9 crore in the second quarter of the 2020-21 financial year, which runs from July to June, as customers finally loosened their purse strings after months of austerity measures.
TV, electronic appliances and home appliances though stuttered: sales dropped 15.7 per cent to Tk 287.2 crore.
December quarter’s taking takes Walton’s profit in the first half of its 2020-21 financial year to Tk 646.4 crore, up 4.9 per cent year-on-year.
“As consumers have faith in Walton products and the economy is returning to pre-pandemic levels, we are very hopeful of robust sales in the coming months,” Golam Murshed, managing director of Walton Hi-Tech Industries, told Dhaka Tribune.
A sense of normalcy is returning at a time when sales of refrigerators and air conditioners, items that account for about 80 per cent of Walton’s revenue, hit their peak.
“The months of April and May are the peak time for selling refrigerators and air conditioners — we eagerly look forward to these months every year,” Partha Protim Das, company secretary of Walton Hi-Tech Industries, earlier told Dhaka Tribune.
Besides, Walton’s exports are growing gradually, according to Murshed.
At present, Walton — which manufactures a mindboggling array of gadgets ranging from mobile phones to laptops, washing machines to microwave ovens, blender to gas stoves, electric fans to LED bulbs — exports to 40 countries in Africa, Europe and Asia.
“We are working to make Walton a global brand,” Murshed said, adding that the company will sign an agreement with a Romanian company to export television and other electronics products today.
Shares of Walton, which made its stock market debut in September last year amid much fanfare, have been on the rise.
On Wednesday, they closed at Tk 1,068.2, up 0.05 per cent from the previous day.
(DT)
