Sri Lanka stocks at 1-week closing high

May 29 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka stocks closed at their highest in more than a week on Thursday led by telecom and financials while foreign inflows boosted sentiment with stockbrokers saying the outlook remained positive due to lower interest rates.

The main stock index ended 0.49 percent, or 31.01 points, up at 6,303.77, its highest close since May 20.

The bourse saw a net foreign inflow of 426.8 million rupees worth of shares on Thursday, extending the year-to-date net foreign inflow to 2.27 billion rupees.

The day's turnover was at 810.8 million rupees ($6.22 million), less than this year's daily average of 1.01 billion rupees.

Stockbrokers expect the market to gain in the near future due to lower interest rates after the central bank kept key rates at multi-year lows on Tuesday for the fourth straight month, as expected.

Shares of leading fixed-line phone operator Sri Lanka Telecom PLC rose 4.81 percent to 47.90 rupees a share, while biggest listed lender Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC rose 2.86 percent to 129.60 rupees.

Conglomerate John Keells Holdings PLC, which accounted for 38 percent of the day's turnover on foreign buying, closed 0.43 percent firmer at 234 rupees a share. 

($1 = 130.4000 Sri Lanka rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Sunil Nair)

Sri Lanka stocks close up 0.5-pct

May 29, 2014 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's stocks closed up 0.5 percent on Thursday with strong foreign participation amid eased foreign exchange controls, brokers said.

The Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed 31.01 points higher at 6,303.77 up 0.49 percent. The S&P SL20 closed 36.04 points higher at 3,486.69, up 1.04 percent.

Turnover was 810.92 million rupees, up from 451.16 million rupees a day earlier with 100 stocks closed positive against 78 negative.

John Keells Holdings closed 1.00 rupee higher at 234.00 rupees with three off-market transactions of 194.68 million rupees changing hands at the same market price per share contributing 24 percent of the daily turnover.

JKH’s W0022 warrants closed 80 cents lower at 61.00 rupees and its W0023 warrants closed 10 cents lower at 67.00 rupees.

Kelani Tyres closed 2.10 rupees higher at 65.30 rupees and Lanka Indian Oil Company closed 80 cents higher at 42.40 rupees, attracting most number of trades during the day.

Foreign investors bought 489.74 million rupees worth shares while selling 62.96 million rupees worth shares.

Sri Lanka Telecom closed 2.20 rupees higher at 47.90 rupees and Bukit Darah closed 36.30 rupees higher at 686.30 rupees, contributing most to the index gain.

Lion Brewery Ceylon closed 16.90 rupees higher at 449.00 rupees and Ceylon Tobacco Company closed flat at 1,065.00 rupees.

Commercial Bank closed 3.60 rupees higher at 129.60 rupees and DFCC Bank closed 2.00 rupees lower at 156.00 rupees.

NDB Capital Holdings closed 29.00 rupees lower at 470.00 rupees and Commercial Leasing and Finance closed 10 cents lower at 3.90 rupees.

Best Western Debuts in Spectacular Sri Lanka

Best Western International has reached another landmark in its international expansion, with the launch of the company’s first ever hotel in Sri Lanka.

The brand new BEST WESTERN Elyon Hotel Colombo opens its doors 1st July 2014, marking the US hotel group’s debut on this spectacular Indian Ocean island and boosting its Asian portfolio to 23 countries.

Located on Marine Drive, this charming city hotel offers 60 contemporary guest rooms, all of which come equipped with 32-inch LCD TVs, iPod docking stations and complimentary Wi-Fi.

BEST WESTERN Elyon Hotel Colombo is also expected to become a new star on this fast-growing city’s F&B scene. The hotel’s stylish rooftop bar and terrace offers a unique proposition for Colombo, with guests able to enjoy cool cocktails and tasty tapas overlooking the city. This is the perfect place to relax and socialize while watching the sunset over the Indian Ocean.

The hotel also offers an excellent all-day dining restaurant serving up an à la carte menu of local and international dishes.

For corporate travellers, BEST WESTERN Elyon Hotel Colombo provides a boardroom capable of hosting up to 30 people, plus a business centre. And after a hard day’s work, guests can wind down with a workout in the hotel’s well-equipped fitness centre.

“With fast-paced GDP growth and a burgeoning tourism industry, there is no doubt that Sri Lanka is one of Asia’s new ‘tiger economies’,” said Glenn de Souza, Best Western International’s Vice President of International Operations for Asia & Middle East.
“With economic growth similar to that of China and international visitor arrivals rising in double-digits, this wonderful country holds tremendous opportunities for both business and leisure travellers.

“I am delighted to be able to introduce Best Western’s world-famous values of comfort, connectivity and excellent service to travellers in this dynamic destination,” Mr. de Souza added.

BEST WESTERN Elyon Hotel Colombo joins a collection of more than 200 Best Western hotels either operating or in the pipeline across Asia and the Middle East.

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Trans Asia Hotels posts Rs. 816 m pre-tax profit

Trans Asia Hotels PLC released its interim results for the fourth quarter and 12 months ended 31 March 2014.

The recurring profit before tax (PBT) for the financial year 2013/14, excluding the fair value gains on investment property, was Rs.816 million, a decrease of 5% over the recurring PBT of Rs. 857 million recorded in the previous year.

The recurring profit attributable to equity holders of Rs.743 million represented a decline of 4% in comparison to the Rs.777 million recorded in the previous financial year.

Revenue for the financial year 2013/14 was Rs.2.94 billion, this being an increase of 3% over the Rs. 2.84 billion recorded in the previous financial year.
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Dunamis Capital posts net profit of Rs. 121.5 m

Dunamis Capital PLC has reported profit after tax of Rs. 121.5 million for the year ending 31 March 2014.

The holding company of First Capital, Kelsey Homes and Premier Synthetic Leather, Dunamis said consolidated revenues had declined by a marginal 7% to Rs. 1.8 billion.
Financial Services recorded net profit of Rs. 340 million for the year reviewed, while Property Development converted a net loss of Rs. 55 million in 2012-13 into net profit of Rs. 148.6 million, the company said in a filing with the Colombo Stock Exchange.

During the year under review the company invested Rs. 600 million in Kelsey Homes to fund the purchase of a six-acre property in Mount Lavinia and Rs. 200 million in Premier Synthetic Leather, the only synthetic leather manufacturer in Sri Lanka.

The latter incurred a pre-operational expense of Rs. 53 million which impacted the group’s bottom line, but is expected to commence commercial production in the first quarter of 2014-’15 and break even in the current financial year, Dunamis Capital’s Managing Director Manjula Mathews said.

Reviewing the operations of the Group, she said the lower profit reported by the Financial Services segment was primarily due to the absence of opportunities to realise the significant gains of the previous year through the sale of investment securities.
Administration expenses had more than doubled to Rs. 266.6 million as the financial services subsidiary enhanced the profile of staff and moved offices to a more appropriate location to achieve its long-term growth objectives, Mathews said. The year under review also saw the consolidation of First Capital Equities, a stockbroking company acquired in June 2013.

Looking ahead, Mathews said early sales of the new development of Kelsey Homes show promise, and the company expects demand for housing to increase over the next financial year in a low interest rate environment. “Kelsey has identified further properties for launch in the forthcoming financial year and expects a significant improvement in the company’s performance.”

“We also expect to see growth in financial services in the year ahead, especially in the structuring and placement of corporate debt securities given the tax incentives and the underlying low interest rate regime. There will also be increased focus on the corporate advisory business,” Mathews added.

The Dunamis group’s current holdings encompass interests in Financial Services (First Capital), Property Development (Kelsey) and Manufacturing (Premier Leather).
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John Keells posts pre-tax profit of Rs. 317.3 m

John Keells PLC released its interim results for the fourth quarter and 12 months ended 31 March 2014.

The consolidated profit before tax (PBT) from continuing operations for the financial year 2013/14 was Rs. 317.3 million, a decrease of 5% over the corresponding PBT of Rs. 335.1 million recorded in the previous financial year.

The consolidated profit after tax (PAT) for the financial year 2013/14 was Rs. 156.2 million as against Rs. 752.8 million in the previous year as a result of the combined impact of the current year’s profits including an impairment charge of Rs. 135.5 million and the previous year including a gain from the fair valuation of investment property of Rs. 483.5 million.

These impacts are classified as discontinued operations as a result of the transfer of the land owned by the company at Glennie Street to Waterfront Properties Ltd., details of which are in the Annual Report.

The consolidated revenue for the financial year 2013/14 was Rs.874.8 million, this being an increase of 15% over the Rs.760 million recorded in the previous financial year.
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Asian Hotels and Properties records PBT of Rs. 2.78 b

Asian Hotels and Properties PLC released its Interim Results for the fourth quarter and 12 months ended 31 March 2014.

The recurring profit before tax (PBT) for the financial year 2013/14, excluding the fair value gains on investment property, was Rs. 2.78 billion, a marginal decrease of 1% over the recurring PBT of Rs.2.81 billion recorded in the previous year.

The recurring profit attributable to equity holders of the parent of Rs. 2.13 billion represented decrease of 0.3% in comparison to the Rs.2.14 billion recorded in the previous financial year.

The Group revenue for the financial year 2013/14 was Rs. 8.26 billion, this being an increase of 5% over the Rs.7.89 billion recorded in the previous financial year.
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Tea Smallholder Factories PBT increases 24% to Rs. 112.2 m

Tea Smallholder Factories PLC released its interim results for the fourth quarter and 12 months ended 31 March 2014.

For the financial year 2013/14, profit before tax (PBT) was Rs. 112.2 million, this being a 24% increase over the PBT of Rs. 90.8 million recorded in the previous financial year. The profit attributable to the equity holders of Rs. 81.5 million was a 3% decrease over the Rs. 84.1 million reported in the previous financial year.

Revenue was Rs. 2.68 billion, this being an increase of 10% over the revenue of Rs.2.43 billion recorded in the previous financial year.
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