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18 March 2002 Media Release SIGMA DELIVERS ON PROMISES
The Board of Directors of Sigma Company Limited (Sigma) today announced an increase in full year Earnings before Interest and Taxation (EBIT) of 71% to $46.5 Million for the financial year ended 31 January 2002. The full year profit after tax represents an increase of 30.5% over the pre-abnormals profit of last year. Profit before Tax rose by 107% to $35.9 Million while Profit after Tax increased by 145% to $21.9 Million. EPS growth was 30% above the pre-abnormal earnings of the prior year. Commenting on this outstanding result, the Sigma Chairman, Dr. John Stocker said " This result demonstrates that in this turnaround year for the Company, the focus on bottom line has been maintained and that the transparency with which the profit result has been achieved, has been recognised by the market". " It is of particular significance that this is now the third consecutive half year when Sigma has achieved strong growth and the Company has delivered on the forecast profit of 20-25% earnings per share (EPS) growth. The Company has also demonstrated its ability to grow revenue while constraining costs throughout the business." Dr. Stocker said. Both Divisions have contributed positively to the result with the Pharmaceutical Division improving EBIT by 25.8% and Profit Before Tax by 25.4% on increased sales of 22% to $218.6 Million after eliminating intercompany sales. The Healthcare Division has delivered an EBIT improvement of 21.7% and a Profit Before Tax increase of 26.6% over the prior year pre-abnormals profit on increased sales of 7.6% at $1.45 Billion. The year has also been marked as much by strong cost management as it has by the steady growth from both Divisions. The wholesaling component of Healthcare introduced a number of working capital management programs including 'Sigma Rewards', a debtor management program which has reduced closing debtors by $30 Million a month. The increased sales in Healthcare were also achieved by a 20% reduction in the number of merchandise suppliers and a 15% reduction in the range of products distributed while maintaining Sigma's high level of customer service. Commenting on the Company's full year performance, the Managing Director, Elmo de Alwis, said "The process is not yet complete and there remain further opportunities to improve margins in wholesaling and we have not yet seen the full effects of some of our acquisitions in manufacturing." "We are predicting solid organic profit growth continuing over the medium term while we also actively investigate growth and acquisition opportunities within the pharmaceuticals sector in Australia as well as explore opportunities for growth in selected overseas markets" Mr. de Alwis said. The Board has announced an increased final dividend of 5.0 cents per share (33% increase for the full year to 10.0 cents), fully franked, and this is consistent with Sigma's current policy to return approximately two thirds of after tax profits to shareholders. The dividend is payable on 23 May 2002. Merger discussions with API are continuing and the ACCC is reviewing the proposal based on market soundings currently being conducted by that body. For further information, please contact; |