Commercial Credit and Finance notches Rs. 01 bn profits in 1H 2014-15

"Commercial Credit and Finance PLC, reported better than expected first six months in 2014-15 with a 191% increase in post-tax profits. Profits from the first six months increased from Rs. 345 Mn to Rs. 1 Bn

"Profit After Tax (PAT) increased to a commendable Rs. 514 Mn in the three months ending September 2014, from Rs. 172 Mn a year ago. The results reflect the 87% increase in Net Interest Income in the quarter to Rs. 1.6 Bn. The quarter’s results also positively impacted the company’s six months results, with Net Interest Income growing to Rs. 3.2 Bn, up 87%, while PAT rose 191% to cross the Rs. 1 Bn mark.

A press release said: ‘Total assets of the company notched up to Rs. 41 Bn as at 30th September 2014, up from Rs. 32 Bn as at 31st March 2014. The boost to assets came from growth in Loans and Advances moving up at a healthy pace of 7.4% to close the quarter from 31st March 2014 to 30th September 2014 at Rs. 18.4 Bn. Lease rentals receivable and Stock out on hire showed more robust growth with a 31% increase to Rs. 11.4 Bn, up from Rs. 8.7 Bn six months prior.

‘Continuing with the current wave of performance, the Company expects to report significantly improved earnings in the next six months compared to the corresponding period in the previous financial year. During the first six months of the current financial year, fueled by the satisfactory level of liquidity, Company expects to accelerate investments.
www.island.lk

Dunamis Capital recorded consolidated profits after tax of Rs. 878 Mn for the first six months of 2014/15

The Group recorded consolidated profits after tax of Rs. 878 Mn for the first six months of 2014/15 compared to an after tax loss of Rs. 0.2 Mn in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Profits of the financial services unit, First Capital Holdings PLC were Rs. 868 Mn compared to Rs. 95 Mn in the previous year. The unit’s primary dealer arm remained the key contributor to profits with the continued decline in secondary market interest rates coupled with favourable macro-economic factors creating ideal trading opportunities which yielded exceptional returns.

Kelsey Developments PLC, the property development arm of the group showed improved performance and reported consolidated profits after tax of Rs. 22 Mn for the period. This compared favourably with profits of Rs. 164 Mn in the corresponding period of the previous year in which a one-off capital gain of Rs. 177 Mn had been realised. The Riverfront project in Kaduwela launched in May 2014, was a substantial contributor towards profits.

The group’s most recent venture Premier Synthetic Leather Manufacturers (Pvt) Limited reported operating losses of Rs. 44 Mn for the first six months of 2014/15. Since commencing commercial operations in June 2014 the unit has made steady progress in its sales efforts and we expect the company to be a strong contributor to group profits in the coming years.

At company level profits of Rs. 339 Mn were reported for the six months compared to Rs. 86 Mn in the comparable period of the previous year. The Company’s equity portfolio contributed a significant Rs. 129 Mn to profits and a share buy-back of a subsidiary resulted in a one-off gain of Rs 153 Mn.

Finance expense increased to Rs. 131 Mn compared to Rs. 47 Mn in the previous year. The increase can be attributed to the cost of funding of a property in Nuwara Eliya which is under acquisition order, the investment made in Premier Synthetic Leather Manufacturers (Pvt) Ltd and the funding of the equity portfolio.

Sri Lanka stocks at 3-1/2-year high on foreign buying

Nov 13 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan stocks rose to hover around a 3-1/2-year high on Thursday as investors picked up construction and banking shares on hopes of growth in the sectors, while foreign buying pushed the turnover to a six-week high.

Analysts said low interest rates and better earnings expectations kept investor appetite for risky assets intact.

Sri Lanka's main stock index edged up 0.14 percent to 7,479.69, its highest closing level since May 19, 2011.

"There was lot of retail interest seen across the board after some time. We expect a psychological barrier around 7,500 levels specially on the big-cap shares," said Dimantha Mathew manager, research, at First Capital Equities (pvt) Ltd.

Thursday's turnover was 4.08 billion rupees, well above this year's daily average of 1.42 billion rupees with foreign investors buying a net 1.11 billion rupees ($8.48 million) worth of shares. The bourse has witnessed a foreign inflow of 17.86 billion rupees so far this year, exchange data showed.

Shares in Access Engineering Plc, which led the overall gain, rose 5.98 percent to 39 rupees while People's Leasing and Finance Plc rose 2.08 percent to 24.50 rupees.

Traders said hopes over a boost in vehicle leasing business for People's Leasing and Finance Plc and Access Engineering being awarded a multi-million dollar contract for a new highway helped boost their share prices.

Analysts expect trading to be choppy in the near term due to the revised presidential poll schedule in January and a possible bottoming out of interest rates.

The country's central bank has kept key policy rates steady for a ninth straight month, saying private sector credit growth was picking up and long-term lending rates were adjusting downwards.

($1 = 130.9000 Sri Lankan rupees) 

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

Sri Lanka stocks close higher

Nov 13, 2014 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's stocks closed higher with the positive price movements in Access Engineering amid strong foreign buying, brokers said.

The Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed 10.28 points higher at 7,479.69, up 0.14 percent.

The S&P SL20 closed 7.27 points higher at 4,143.86, up 0.18 percent.

Turnover was 4.08 billion rupees, up from 2.68 billion rupees a day earlier with 96 stocks closed positive against 117 negative.

People’s Leasing and Finance closed 50 cents higher at 24.50 rupees with seven off market transactions of 517.72 million rupees changing hands at 25.00 rupees per share contributing 13 percent of the turnover.

Dialog Axiata closed 10 cents higher at 12.50 rupees with five off market transactions of 333.78 million rupees changing hands at 12.50 rupees per share contributing 8 percent of the turnover.

The aggregate value of all off-the-floor deals represented 31 percent of the daily turnover.

Foreign investors bought 1.39 billion rupees worth shares while selling 272.77 million rupees worth shares.

Access Engineering closed 2.20 rupees higher at 39.00 rupees, attracting most number of trades during the day while contributing most to the index gain.

Carson Cumberbatch closed 8.00 rupees lower at 430.00 rupees.

Nestlé Lanka posts 6% revenue growth for Q3 2014

Leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness Company, Nestlé Lanka Plc, recorded a growth of 7.9% for the nine months ending 30 September 2014, posting revenue of Rs. 24.9 billion and a profit of Rs. 3.1 billion in the midst of a challenging market environment.

An interim dividend of Rs. 12 per share was also declared by the Board of Directors to be paid to the shareholders on 2 December 2014.

“With each quarter in 2014 posing fresh challenges for Nestlé Lanka, delivering satisfactory growth in line with expectations required perseverance and dedicated efforts from the team. To this effect, I am proud to note that we continued to build our brands and nurture our local talent while continuing to further strengthen the company’s position as the recognised leader in nutrition, health and wellness in the country,” said Nestlé Lanka Chairman and Nestlé South Asia Region Head Etienne Benet.

“We remain committed towards enhancing the quality of life of our consumers by providing them with ‘tasty nutrition’ of the highest quality standards.”

Commenting further on the company’s recent success, Nestlé Lanka Plc’s outgoing Managing Director Ganesan Ampalavanar said: “Nestlé Lanka has maintained stable revenue growth in the past quarter while continuing steadfastly in its Creating Shared Value (CSV) commitments towards developing the rural economy through the procurement of raw material, in particular fresh milk collected daily from over 18,000 farmers. The company celebrated 30 years of ‘Empowering Sri Lankan Dairy Farmers’ by recognising 1,200 of its dairy farmers for their integral role in establishing Nestlé Lanka as the largest private sector collector of fresh milk in the island. We are proud to note that the 30th year celebration further signified the utilisation of 100% locally procured fresh milk for the production of our dairy products as of 2014 for Nestlé Lanka.”

In line with its corporate ambition of being the recognised leader in nutrition, health and wellness in Sri Lanka, Nestlé Lanka has been actively celebrating hallmark days such as ‘World Heart Day’ in Q3 2014, by driving a public awareness campaign encouraging healthy lifestyle changes amongst the general public.

The company additionally enhanced its local product portfolio with the entrance of its flagship brand Nestomalt’s ready-to-drink (RTD) into the market’s last quarter, offering on-the-go tasty nutrition to consumers. A uniquely Sri Lankan product that has been a household name in the country for many decades, Nestomalt today is Sri Lanka’s best loved and iconic malted food drink brand.
www.ft.lk

Dr. Larry Adams new Chairman of PCH Holdings

Dr. Larry Adams new Chairman of PCH Holdings
Dr. Larry Adams has been appointed as the Chairman of the Board of PCH Holdings Plc and Director Chaminda D. Banduthilake was promoted to Managing Director.

Adam Investments Ltd., Chairman Dr. Ali Asger Shabbir Gulamhusein has also joined the PCHH Board as an Executive Director along with Danushya C. Mediwake Gulamhusein.

Three non-Executive Directors were also appointed: Idris Shabbir, Mohamed Imran Rasheed Zahir (Independent) and Enayath Hussain Tayabally (Independent).
Banduthilake was an existing director while the other remaining director is D. P. Galabodage.

The appointments follow the resignation of Mohamed Rishan who was Chairman and CEO, M.M. M.N. Farzaan, P. L. Wijesekara and Shanti Sri N. Goonaratne.

Dr. Adams has served Adam Investments as a director from the inception of the company. He holds numerous qualifications such as PhD, MBA, MTh, BTh, DIP TH, DIP HR, DIP Networking and DIP Hardware which he has obtained in Japan, Canada, UK and Sri Lanka.

Adams is a former Director of Tec Sri Lanka and accounts for over 25 years experience in top management in Sri Lanka and overseas. He also serves as Director of Orient Garments Plc, Adam Air Conditioners Ltd., and Adam Automobiles Ltd.

He is a prominent public speaker and has been keynote speaker at prestigious international events such as the CEO Forum ASEAN and the CIO/CTO Forum of SAARC.

Dr. Gulamhusein is the Chairman of Adam Investments. He holds a PhD from Tokyo, Japan and a degree from King’s College London, UK. He has been bestowed with the prestigious title of ‘Deshabandhu Manawahithwadhi, Lankaputhra’ and also serves as advisor to the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Cooperatives and Internal Trade and Ministry of Productivity Promotion.
www.ft.lk

Assets worth Rs. 761 m reverted to PCH Holdings

* Adam Investments settles case with M. Rishan and others over Bieco with Rs. 35 m payment; gets full control of PCHH and carbon venture

Adam Investments Ltd., (AINV) announced yesterday it has entered into an agreement with PCH Holdings Plc and 10 other respondents in the recent case filed in the Commercial High Court.

As result of this agreement, AINV gets full management and Board control of PCH Holdings Plc and Bieco Link Carbons Ltd. AINV has agreed to pay Rs. 35 million to MMD Ventures Lanka Ltd. according to the agreement.

In addition it stated that 100% ownership of Bieco Link Carbons Ltd. will be restored to PCH Holdings Plc. Consequently, PCH Holdings will see a boost in its asset value corresponding to the asset value of this fully owned subsidiary.

PCH Holdings Plc, in a corporate disclosure in August, declared that their fully-owned subsidiary Bieco Link Carbons Ltd. was sold to MMD Ventures Lanka Ltd. Adam Investments Ltd. has challenged this in courts and with this agreement the disputes will come to an end with PCH Holdings Plc having full ownership of Bieco Link Carbons Ltd.

As per 31 March 2014 accounts, the asset value of Bieco Link Carbons Ltd. is Rs. 761.5 million. Valuation of Bieco Link Carbon was excluded in PCHH accounts as at September 2014 due to the case.

In a separate development but involving related parties, the winding up application for Orient Garments Plc filed by Jeremy Grebbe was resolved as well.

The petitioner and the company entered into an agreement that the application will be withdrawn in settlement of Rs. 1.4 million as payment to the petitioner.

Adam Investments which listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange Diri Savi Board earlier this year is headed by Deshabandu Dr. Ali Asgar Shabbir Gulamhusein.

AINV made an aggressive takeover bid of PCH Holdings, triggering the Mergers and Acquisition code requirement to make a mandatory offer to purchase all outstanding shares of PCH Holdings Plc held by the public but the offer was later suspended pending the settlement of the court case referred to in the disclosure; it is likely to recommence now that an agreement has been reached between the two parties.
www.ft.lk