Sri Lanka’s J L Morisons to invest $13.5mn in pharma plant

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s J L Morisons Son & Jones (Ceylon) PLC said it plans to invest $13.5 million to build a new pharmaceutical manufacturing plant.

The company, a unit of the Hemas Holdings group, said in a stock exchange filing that commercial operations of the plant are expected to start in 2019.

“This research and manufacturing facility will be located within the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology park in Pitipana, Homagama,” it said. “The proposed plant will significantly enhance the manufacturing capacity of the company, while complying with global regulatory standards.”

Sri Lanka's Laugfs in the red as LPG costs soar amid price controls

ECONOMYNEXT - Sri Lanka's Laugfs said it lost Rs185 million in the December 2016 quarter against a profit of Rs293 million a year earlier, as liquefied gas prices soared and it was seeking a price hike from authorities.

The group, which also has interests in tourism, reported losses of 46 cents per share. In the nine months to December, it reported earnings of 28 cents per share on total profits of Rs120 million.

However, finance costs also rose to Rs403 million from Rs186 million.

"Significant increases in LPG prices in the world market have had a substantial negative impact on our bottomline compared to the corresponding period last year," Laugfs Chairman W K H Wagapitiya told shareholders.

"However, in order to effectively counteract the impacts of these global trends, we have already engaged with the relevant stakeholders for a realignment of prices. While some of our long-term investments have also had a significant negative impact on our financial results, we remain positive and confident of the long-term returns these will yield."

Sri Lanka had a price formula for LGP during the last administration, which protected distributors, the rupee and the credit system by matching domestic demand with imports.

However, the current administration had mandated a series of price reductions outside the formula.

Over the last quarter, both propane and butane prices, which make up LPG, have soared.

The price of $295 a metric tonne in September 2016 had soared to $510 by February 2017. Butane had shot up from $320 a tonne to $600 in the same period.

Crude prices have also recovered from unusually low prices in the first quarter of 2016.

Sri Lankan shares fall for 2nd day; banks lead

Reuters: Sri Lankan shares declined in a shortened session on Friday, further moving away from a four-week closing high hit earlier in the week, as investors sold banking stocks amid concerns over rising market interest rates.

The Colombo stock index fell 0.22 percent to 6,159.87, its second straight session of falls, but posted a weekly gain of 1.1 percent after four straight weeks of declines.

"There was no big interest in the market, it was a dull day with low trade," said Dimantha Mathew, head of research at First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd.

"We saw a bit of profit-taking and that trend will continue for few more days until investors see some positive news."

Shares of Commercial Leasing and Finance Company Plc fell 9.4 percent, while Commercial bank of Ceylon Plc , the country's biggest listed lender, declined 0.7 percent. Conglomerate John Keells Holdings Plc dropped 0.1 percent.

Turnover stood at 329.4 million rupees ($2.19 million), less than half of this year's daily average of 622.4 million rupees.

Foreign investors offloaded a net 14.64 million rupees worth of equities, making them net sellers for the first time in 12 sessions, and extending the year-to-date net foreign outflow to 237.8 million rupees worth of shares.

The market will remain slow for the next few days and many investors will await direction from the sovereign bond issue, Mathew said.

The Sri Lankan cabinet approved a $1.5 billion sovereign bond issue to repay loans and manage interest payments, a cabinet spokesman said on Wednesday.

Yields on treasury bills rose 5-8 basis points at a weekly auction on Wednesday and are hovering at a more than four-year high.

The stock market traded for half a day due to a special holiday in lieu of National Day which fell on Feb. 4.

($1 = 150.5500 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

Colombo Stock Exchange Market Review – 17th Feb 2017

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Colombo Stock Exchange Trade Summary 17-Feb-2017

Colombo bourse fell back to negative territory on Friday amid price decline in high caps. All Share index shed 13.85 index points (-0.22%) to end at 6,159.87 while 20-scrip S&P SL index lost 4.23 index points or 0.12% to close at 3,543.63.

Price depreciation in Ceylon Tobacco (LKR 830.20, -2.2%), Commercial Leasing & Finance (LKR 2.90, -9.4%) and Commercial Bank (LKR 142.00, -0.7%) adversely impacted the index performance.

Daily market turnover was LKR 329mn. Teejay Lanka was the top contributor to the turnover with LKR 107mn underpinned by two crossings of 2.6mn shares at LKR 39.50. Hemas Holdings (LKR 78mn), Tokyo Cement non-voting (LKR 37mn) and Tokyo Cement voting (LKR 25mn) made notable contribution.

Losers outweighed the gainers 64 to 37 while 65 stocks remained unchanged. High investor activity was witnessed in Pan Asia Bank rights, Central Investments & Finance and HVA Foods. Central Investments & Finance continued to decline as share closed at LKR 1.00, with a loss of 16.7%.

Meanwhile, Ceylon Cold Stores declared an interim dividend of LKR 14.00 per share.

Foreign investors were net sellers with a net outflow of LKR 15mn after eleven straight days of inflows. Foreign participation was 66%. Net foreign outflows were seen in Teejay Lanka (LKR 31mn), Tokyo Cement (LKR 15mn), Piramal Glass (LKR 7mn) while net foreign inflow was mainly seen in Tokyo Cement non-voting (LKR 27mn).
Source:LSL

Sri Lankan shares slip from 4-wk closing high on profit-taking

Reuters: Sri Lankan shares ended slightly weaker on Thursday, down from a four-week closing high hit in the previous session, as investors sold diversified and telecom shares after a three-day rising streak.

The Colombo stock index fell 0.03 percent to end at 6,173.72, sliding from its highest close since Jan. 18 hit on Wednesday as investors picked up the battered blue-chip shares.

"We saw a bit of profit-taking in the latter part of the day. But some crossings pushed turnover," said Dimantha Mathew, head of research at First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd.

Shares in Carson Cumberbatch Plc fell 8.14 percent, while conglomerate John Keells Holdings Plc lost 0.54 percent, dragging down the overall index.

Turnover stood at 633.1 million rupees ($4.20 million), in line with this year's daily average of 631.5 million rupees.

Foreign investors net bought 67.5 million rupees worth of equities on Thursday. They have net sold 223.2 million rupees worth of shares so far this year.

"With interest rates on the rise, the market will remain slow in the next few days and many investors will wait to see the direction from the sovereign bond issue," Mathew said.

The Sri Lankan cabinet approved a $1.5 billion sovereign bond issue to repay loans and manage interest payments, a cabinet spokesman said on Wednesday.

Yields on treasury bills rose 5-8 basis points at a weekly auction on Wednesday and are hovering at a more than four-year high. 

($1 = 150.7500 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)

Colombo Stock Exchange Market Review – 16th Feb 2017

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Colombo Stock Exchange Trade Summary 16-Feb-2017

Colombo equities closed on mixed note despite foreign inflows. All Share index touched 6,194 mark in morning hours but failed to retain the momentum to close at 6,173.72, down by 1.78 index points or 0.03%. However, 20-scrip S&P SL index advanced by 1.95 index points or 0.05% to end at 3,547.86.

Price decline in high caps namely, Carson Cumberbatch (LKR 153.40, -8.1%), John Keells Holdings (LKR 147.20, -0.5%) and Aitken Spence Hotels Holdings (LKR 38.80, -5.1%) impacted the index performance.

Daily market turnover was LKR 633mn. Lion Brewery was the major contributor to the turnover with LKR 164mn supported by two negotiated deals of 0.4mn shares changed hands at LKR 430.00. Access Engineering (LKR 157mn), John Keells Holdings (LKR 89mn) and Chevron Lubricants (LKR 35mn) made notable contribution.

Off-the-floor transactions were recorded in Access Engineering (5.8mn shares at LKR 26.50) and John Keells Holdings (0.5mn shares at LKR 147.50). Aggregate value of crossings accounted for 63% of the turnover.

Market breadth was equally divided where 66 stocks advanced while 66 stocks slipped. High investor activity was seen in Central Investments & Finance, subsequent to the lift of trading halt. Stock advanced to LKR 1.50 but closed at LKR 1.20, with a loss of 14.3%. Pan Asia Bank rights, Sampath Bank and First Capital Holdings were among heavily traded counters.

Foreign investors stood on buy side for the eleventh consecutive session with a net foreign inflow of LKR 68mn. Foreign participation was 46%. Net foreign inflows were seen in Chevron Lubricants (LKR 33mn), Seylan Bank non-voting (LKR 10mn), Sampath Bank (LKR 10mn) while net foreign outflow was mainly seen in Lion Brewery (LKR 1mn).

Source: LSL

Colombo Stock Exchange Market Review – 15th Feb 2017

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Colombo Stock Exchange Trade Summary 15-Feb-2017

Colombo bourse extended winning streak for the third straight day led by price gains in high caps. All Share index crossed 6,150 mark and closed at 6,175.50, with a gain of 26.56 index points or 0.43% while 20-scrip S&P SL index advanced by 12.98 index points (0.37%) to end at 3,545.91.

Price appreciation in Ceylon Tobacco (LKR 848.60, +2.9%), Ceylinco Insurance (LKR 1,299.50, +6.0%) and Carson Cumberbatch (LKR 167.00, +4.4%) pushed the index to greener territory.

Daily market turnover reached LKR 876mn supported by last minute negotiated trade in John Keells Holdings where 3.9mn shares changed hands at LKR 148.00. Another crossing was recorded in Tokyo Cement (1.3mn shares at LKR 60.00). Aggregate value of crossings accounted for 75% of the turnover.

Accordingly, John Keells Holdings (LKR 593mn) was the top contributor to the turnover followed by Tokyo Cement (LKR 77mn), Hatton National Bank (LKR 25mn) and Access Engineering (LKR 17mn) respectively.

Pan Asia Bank rights continued to decrease as it closed at LKR 0.70, down by 22.2% during the session. Sampath Bank, Richard Pieris and John Keells Holdings witnessed heavy trading activity. Tokyo Cement (LKR 60.50, +2.5%) closed with gains subsequent to the positive quarter earnings.

Foreign investors were net buyers with a net foreign inflow of LKR 22mn. Net foreign inflows were seen in Hatton National Bank (LKR 25mn), Melstacorp (LKR 8mn), Tokyo Cement (LKR 3mn) and net foreign outflow was mainly seen in CT Holdings (LKR 7mn). Foreign participation for the day was 80%.

Meanwhile at the Treasury bill auction today, yields increased across board. Three month treasury rate increased by 6bps to 9.22% and six month treasury rate advanced to 10.12% (+5bps). One year Treasury bill yield increased by 8bps to 10.55%. CBSL offered treasury bills worth of LKR 25.5bn and auction was oversubscribed by 2.1 times with bids receiving amounting to LKR 53.1bn. It was decided to accept LKR 21.8bn worth of treasury bills.
Source: LSL