Turnall earnings boosted by revised exchange rate

Turnall Holdings, one of the country’s biggest manufacturers of asbestos cement products, received a tremendous boost from the revised exchange rate announced in February.

It earned $2.7 billion in net finance income in the first half of this year with the bulk, $1.8 billion, coming from the revaluation of its foreign debtors.

Total sales had improved from $1.9 billion to $7.9 billion with operating profit increasing from $637.9 million to $2.3 billion.

Net profit shot up from $414 million to $3.4 billion, more than double the $1.5 billion the company made the whole of 2002.

The company says the operating environment was very difficult as its products were under a price freeze from November 2002 to May.

Cement, which had been under a price control for 15 months, was also recategorised.

Demand for piping products remained strong throughout the period with volumes being marginally higher than in the first half of last year.

The company says it continues to invest in the state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment and systems to maintain world class manufacturing standards and was expecting to achieve ISO 18000- health and safety certification during the third quarter of the year.

The company says performance in the second half was expected to be strong. Margins were expected to improve following the relaxation of price controls and traditionally the second half was better than the first.

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