Sri Lanka Textured Jersey December quarter net down 29-pct

Feb 03, 2012 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's Textured Jersey Lanka, a unit of Brandix, an apparel export group, said net profit fell 29 percent in the December 2011 quarter from a year ago.

Net profit in the nine months ending December 31, 2011 fell 11 percent to 409 million rupees from a year ago.

Sales of the firm, a knitwear maker catering to the export apparel industry, rose 36 percent to 9.

1 billion rupees during the nine-month period, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

Net profit margin in the period ending December 2011 fell to 4.48 percent from 6.85 percent a year ago.

Net profit for the December 2011 quarter fell 29.

7 percent to 187 million rupees from a year ago.

The accounts showed a sharp increase in net finance costs for the quarter to 40 million rupees which included an unrealised foreign exchange loss of 42.

6 million rupees.

Analysts said Textured Jersey had 1.

4 billion rupees of borrowings part of which was in US dollars.

But it also has 1.2 billion of short term investments in rupees reflecting the proceeds of last year's share issue.

They said the company, which prepares accounts in dollars and converts them to rupees, might be