BLUE Power will add equipment or more shifts should the demand for bath soap continue to increase.

The company’s soap division saw higher sales — which increased from $243 million for the year ended April 30, 2012, to $303 million in 2013 — and more than doubled its net profit, from $18 million to $43 million.

The improved performance was due largely to a significant increase in the sale of bath soaps which are gaining acceptance in the marketplace, according to Dhiru Tanna, the group’s chairman.

What’s more, the company, which also distributes hardware, got an international contract that enhanced the sales and profit.

During the year under review, the group’s Lumber Depot contributed $61.3 million to its overall profit, or $32 million more than the comparative period, while revenue climbed from $620 million in 2012 to $742 million in 2013.

A foreign agency bought hardware to be used in Jamaica, Tanna told the Business Observer.

“The extraordinary enhancement in both sales and profits in the Lumber Depot division was due to two main factors: the first and most important being the award of a significant supply contract by an international agency,” he said.

An ability to buy in large quantities to sell at a more competitive price was the other reason behind the improvement in hardware sales.

Blue Power Group posted $104 in net profit for the year ended April 30, up from $47 million in the previous year.

The company saw its expenses increase by $18.5 million during the period under review, up from $117.6 million over the year before.

“The increase was due to inflation and provision for staff bonuses due to their performance,” the chairman noted.

Other income of the Group for the year ended April 30, 2013 grew by 310 per cent, up from $2.3 million to $9.7 million.

Largely known for its “cake soap”, Blue Power Group in 2010 became the second company to list on the junior stock market, raising some $88 million in an initial public offering.