MINSK, 5 March (BelTA) – The Vitebsk Carpets company earned about Br4.2 million in net profit in 2020, up nearly two times over 2019, BelTA learned from the company's website.
All in all, in 2020 the company produced about 20 million square meters of carpets, down by 8.7% over a year earlier. The company exports the bulk of its output, therefore it was hit hard by restrictive measures related to the COVID-19 infection. Nevertheless, the company managed to grow its net profit and other indicators related to efficiency, solvency and financial stability. Thus, sales revenues amounted to Br124.5 million, up 3%. The profit to cost ratio stood at 8.4%. The profit margin rose by 3 percentage points up to 7.5%. The company also hit the targets related to energy conservation, cost reduction, labor productivity, stocks of finished products.
Vitebsk Carpets exported about 18.6 million square meters of carpet products in 2020. Exports accounted for 93.5% of the company's output. The sales on foreign markets exceeded $42.4 million, or 91.8% as against 2019. The company's major export destinations were Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Finland, Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, and Germany.
In 2020, Vitebsk Carpets invested about Br0.5 million in fixed assets. All the funds were used to buy machinery and equipment.
In February 2020 Vitebsk Carpets acquired the property of Brest Carpets for about Br7.2 million at an auction. In April 2020, the Brest Carpets branch of Vitebsk Carpets was registered. In 2021, the Brest Carpets branch is set to produce one million square meters of carpets.
The Vitebsk Carpet Association was founded in 1947 on the basis of the Dvina flax factory, which in turn was built in 1900 by Belgian businessmen. The enterprise became a joint stock company in 1994, the government holds a 51.1% stock in its authorized capital. Vitebsk Carpets is one of Belarus' textile industry giants and makes part of the Bellegprom concern.
