Fontana has recorded another positive quarter with net profit jumping by 333.7 per cent to $72.9 million for the March quarter, compared with $21.6 million which was recorded a year ago.

For the nine months ended March 2021, net profit was $366 million, representing a 56 per cent increase over the $234 million for the previous financial year. Despite the ongoing challenges of the past year’s COVID-19 environment, the pharmacy chain financial results continue to improve over the prior financial year.

Revenues for the quarter amounted to $1.22 billion, representing a 4.2 per cent increase over the $1.17 billion achieved in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Gross profit also increased to $416.4 million, three per cent higher than the $404.1 million recorded in the prior year.

While the revenue on some of Fontana’s higher margin products declined slightly, the company experienced increases in lower margin product sales, which drove the top line. The management’s continued focus on cost control measures resulted in decreases in operating expenses of $17.9 million moving from $347 million to $329.1 million for the period under review.

This represented a 5.2 per cent reduction in operating costs, underlining the continued success in controlling internal and external expenses during these stressful times.

Foreign exchange losses incurred

Finance costs were impacted primarily by the foreign exchange losses recorded in relation to the revaluation of the lease liability (IFRS 16), which caused an additional sum of $12.4 million for the period. Total assets at the end of the quarter stood at $3.45 billion, up from $3.21 billion in 2020, reflecting an increase of 7.5 per cent.

Cash on hand rose from $557 million to $809 million, an increase of 52 percent. Shareholder’s equity grew to $1.76 billion, up from $1.45 billion or 21 per cent over prior year.