SOAP manufacturer and hardware distributor Blue Power Group posted a 14 per cent decline in net profits to $47.1 million for the year ending April 30, 2012. The bottom line was impacted by reduced margins and higher administrative costs in its lumber depot segment, the company said.

Group revenues for the 12-month period under review were $863 million compared to $791 million for the same period last year, a 9.1 per cent increase, reported the company.

Blue Power’s soap division performed well over the period, posting a 22 per cent year-on-year increase in revenues to $243.1 million and a 73 per cent jump in profit-after-tax to $18 million. The company attributed the huge growth in the soap division to a spike in sales of the company’s Blue Power Castile and Lasco bathing soap lines — the company has a contract to manufacture bath soaps under the Lasco name.

However, the strong performance in the soap division was offset by reduced margins from major supply relationships and administrative cost increases in the lumber depot division, which posted a 34 per cent after-tax-profit decline to $29.1 million despite growing revenues by five per cent to $619.9 million. Blue Power’s combined administrative and other expenses rose by a whopping 27 per cent.

Blue Power said it made a serious effort over the period to eliminate expensive debt, improve its cash position and manage receivables and payables. According to the company report, over $30 million of long-term liabilities were retired over the period under review and the group’s cash position improved by over $40 million to $58.4 million.

“The financial year 2012/13 will see further investment in our manufacturing facility with the acquisition of additional packaging equipment and rationalisation of our production processes with the expectation that our output and sales will show significant improvements,” said Dhiru Tanna, Blue Power Group chairman.

Blue Power was the second company to list on the junior stock market, raising some $88 million in its initial public offering.