Stock Earnings: FiberChem Tech 1st quarter profit surged 54.9%!

FibreChem Technologies Ltd said its first quarter net profit surged 54.9 pct year-on-year to 65.99 mln hkd, boosted by strong demand for its products. Sales for the three-month period rose 36.4 pct to 244.71 mln hkd on the back of strong demand for its core-sheath nylon-polyester bi-component fibre (core-sheath fibre) and sea-island short fibre products. FibreChem said that its net margin improved to 27 pct in the March quarter from 23.7 pct a year earlier, notwithstanding a sharp rise in expenses. New product mix aided the company to achieve higher margins in the first quarter, it said. Its sea-island short fibre product, used in the manufacture of high-end synthetic leather, made a first time contribution of about 10 pct to the overall revenue, FibreChem said. Looking ahead, FibreChem said it is confident revenues from both the high-end synthetic leather and core-sheath fibre will allow the company to meet its net profit target of 280 mln hkd for 2006.

Fibrechem Technologies Ltd year to March results:
Sales - 244.71 mln hkd vs 179.38 mln
Pretax profit - 76.93 mln hkd vs 50.91 mln
Net profit - 65.99 mln hkd vs 42.59 mln
EPS - 0.15 hkd vs 0.10