Sheela Foam warns of GST hit

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh —  Sheela Foam, which makes mattresses in India under the Sleepwell brand, has warned that changes to India's goods and service tax (GST) may hit company performance in the near term.

In the longer term, though, delegates at the PU Tech 2017 meeting in Greater Noida, New Delhi, believe that GST reform will simplify and speed up trade across India.

In a letter to the Bombay stock exchange dated 9 June 2017, Sheela Foam said " [The] Goods and Service Tax (GST) is likely to be implemented from 1 July 2017. This tax reform is expected to be good for the economy as well as for the organised sector in the long run. However, due to transitional provisions, trade is trying to clear its inventory to the maximum by 30 June 2017. This is despite the company is assuring the trade that the company will bear the transitional loss. Hence the reported performance of the company in the near term may be lower than expected."

Sheela Foam saw profits grow in 2017, despite economic headwinds.