Pelikan posts higher Q1 pre-tax profit of RM8.6m

Pelikan International Corp Bhd has recorded a higher pre-tax profit of RM8.647 million in the first quarter ended
March 31, 2012, compared to RM4.3 million in the same period last year.

Revenue, however, declined to RM417.523 million from RM460.75 million as the company continued to streamline its products and eliminate non-profitable business segments/products from its products assortments, resulting in lower revenue especially in the printer consumable segment.

"The lower translation rate in euro has also partly contributed to the lower sales in the current quarter," the company said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia today.

The company anticipates a challenging quarter ahead especially in the European market which is its main market. However, the company has embarked on counter measures to restructure its
operations to cushion any further negative development of the market as well as continuous efforts in developing its markets outside Europe especially in regions such as Latin America and Asia which have good growth prospects.

Going forward, the company said the company expected to change certain operating structures of the production, sales and distribution units to cater to the volume of business, structural changes to the distribution market and its customers. -- Bernama