October 16, 2019
Knutsford Express Services Limited (KEX), for the three months ended August 31, 2019 reported total revenue of $324.52 million, an 11% or $31.59 million increase when compared with the $292.93 million reported for the same period in 2018. KEX noted, “this was due to continued demand for our transport services.”
Administrative and general expenses grew 31% for the quarter to total $267.14 million (2018: $204.01 million). This resulted in gross profits of $57.38 million for the quarter compared to the $88.92 million for the same period a year ago, a 35% decrease.
Finance costs increased 5% to $6.87 million for the period from $6.55 million for 2018.
In addition, finance income fell from $5.63 million in 2018 to $2.02 million in 2019.
As such, Profit before taxation for the period amounted to $52.53 million, relative to $88 million reported in 2018, a 40% decrease. Taxation for the period amounted to $4.76 million whereas no taxes were charged for the corresponding period last year. Consequently, net profit also amounted to $47.78 million, representing a 46% decrease from $88 million booked for the first quarter of 2018.
KEX noted, “our results have been impacted primarily by expenses associated with refurbishment of our fleet, the build-out of several new routes and increased departures. In addition, we continue to invest in our overseas subsidiary KE Connect USA. We of course look forward to these investments coming of age and redounding to our benefit.”
Earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter amounted to $0.10 (2018: $0.18). The twelve-month trailing EPS amounted to $0.30. The number of shares used in our calculations is 500,000,015. Notably, KEX’s stock price closed the trading period on October 15, 2019 at a price of $10.12.
KEX added, “we are encouraged by the response and usage by Our customers of our online reservation and booking systems. More inquiries and transactions are being done through our website’s chat box and mobile app inciting us to invest further in improving our automated customer service platform for increased efficiencies.”
Balance Sheet at a Glance:
As at August 31, 2019 assets totalled $1.14 billion, $301.27 million more than the $834.41 million recorded last year. The increase in total assets was largely due to increases in ‘Property, plant and equipment’ and ‘Cash and Bank Balance’ which increased by 52% and 45% respectively to total $724.56 million (2018: $477.45 million) and $193.73 million (2018: $133.86 million) respectively.
Shareholder’s equity closed at $827.41 million (2018: $714.22 million). As such, the book value per share was $1.65 (2018: $1.43).
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