Cambodia’s second listed company Grand Twins International (GTI) posted an increase in profits for the quarter ending June 30, as the company, despite losing revenue, was able to reduce the costs and improve worker productivity.

In a listing made on the Cambodia Securities Exchange yesterday, the Taiwanese garment manufacturer posted a profit of $3.6 million, up from the $2.83 reported for last year’s second quarter. Despite revenues falling to $14.3 million, the cost of sales saw a larger drop – falling from $12.1 million last year to $8.5 million this last quarter.

For the first half of the year, profit after tax was up a healthy 124 per cent to $4.3 million, again due to substantial reductions in their cost of sales for the first six months.

“Increase in profit was a result of our factory production efficiency improvement after implementation of several projects such as Manufacture Efficiency Project and Material Utility Project,” said Stanley Shen, a spokesperson for the company.

The cost of sales includes materials, labour and overhead, with Shen adding that “employee turnover rate had also dropped with an improvement in efficiency”.

GTI, which produces apparel for Adidas and Reebok, faced a drop in revenues last year on the back of negative investor sentiment after wage strikes hit the garment sector early last year.

But, Shen said the effects of last year’s strike are over.

GTI’s earnings per share remained constant compared to last year, at $0.09 per share.

At the closing bell yesterday, GTI’s share price was unchanged at 5000 riel, or $1.22.