Ground breaking for biggest Indian hotel investment on Nov. 19

The ground breaking for the biggest investment in Sri Lanka by an Indian hotel company will take place on Nov. 19 at Galle Face when ITC Ltd. launches its ITC Colombo One luxury Hotel and Residencies.

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa will be the chief guest on this occasion at which ITC’s Chairman, Mr. Y.C. Deveshwar, will be present.

This will be the first project outside India for the company which runs a chain of over 100 hotels in over 70 destinations in India.

ITC is a diversified conglomerate with interests in FMCG, hotels, paperboard and packaging, agribusiness and IT. It has a market capitalization of approx. USD 45 billion and an annual turnover of over USD 7 billion.
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CIC Holdings records ‘impressive Q2 results’

‘CIC Holdings PLC recorded impressive financial results during the second Quarter of the FY 2014/2015 ending 30 September 2014. Group Turnover of the diversified entity grew to Rs.11,235 mn for the period 1 April to 30 September 2014 a 7 percent increase against the corresponding period in 2013. Profit After Tax (PAT) from continuing operations was Rs. 513 million at the end of Q2, an eight fold increase over the previous year. Consumer, Healthcare, Agriculture & Livestock segments contributed significantly to the group’s turnover, a press release said.

‘Profits from the continuing businesses have increased by 149% and 723% for the company and group respectively. This is mainly due to the increase in revenue and the company’s continuous focus on controlling operational costs. Profit increases in the Consumer and Healthcare segment, the Packaging segment and the Industrial Raw Material segment increased by 167%, 52% and 13% respectively. Despite the reduction of the share of profit of equity accounted, these businesses have contributed significantly to the group’s overall improved financial performance.

‘Improvement in the group’s continuing operations has resulted in the increase of the earning per share-continuing operations five folds to Rs.3.93. CIC Holdings’ Agriculture and Livestock arm and its Consumer and Healthcare segments contributed to 86% of turnover and 81% of operative results.

‘CIC’s CEO and Managing Director S. P. S. Ranatunga commenting on the group’s exceptional Q2 performance said, "I am pleased with the impressive financial results the company has achieved in this financial Quarter. The outstanding performance of each business unit has helped CIC Holdings PLC excel as a group and following our dynamic re-strategizing initiative, we are well on track towards our annual revenue and profit targets. Agriculture, Livestock and Healthcare remain our key areas of focus as we continue to contribute to the well-being of the nation and its people. The government has put the necessary policies in place to support the growth of both the agricultural and healthcare industries and I remain confident that these policies will continue to assist us in our efforts to further develop these business areas."

‘CIC has been a leading blue chip conglomerate in Sri Lanka for decades and its business portfolio extends into the areas of agriculture, animal feed, nutrition, healthcare, industrial materials and consumer products.
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Com Bank records 9-month operating profit of Rs 13.119 bn

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC has reported profit before VAT and NBT of Rs 13.119 billion for the nine months ended September.

‘In spite of a healthy10.38% growth inOperating Income, Profit before tax grew by 7.77 % due to the imposition of Nation Building Tax (NBT) effective January this year, the Bank said in a filing with the Colombo Stock Exchange, a press release said.

The release adds: ‘Profit after tax improved by 7.89% to Rs 7.805 billion despite lower margins during the period under review resulting in gross income growing 2.14% to Rs 54.644 billion, the Bank said.

‘Net interest income for the nine months was up 6.23% to Rs 19.789 billion, and other income comprising of commissions, exchange profit, recoveries and gains on trading, grew by a noteworthy 21.63% to Rs 8.366 billion, largely due to gains from financial investments.

‘Commercial Bank Chairman Dharma Dheerasinghe described the Bank’s nine-month performance as "characteristically robust," with higher business volumes compensating to some degree, for the reduced margins.

‘The Bank’s Managing Director/CEO Jegan Durairatnam said momentum had picked up during the third quarter, during which pre and post-tax profit had grown by a healthy 21.62% and 20.40% respectively over the corresponding three months of 2013, to Rs 4.739 billion and Rs 3.326 billion.

‘Net operating income for the period improved by 9.89% to Rs 24.713 billion, despite an increase in impairment charges by 14.04% to Rs 3.443 billion, mainly due to a change in the basis of computation of provisioning for individual impairment. This change is intended to improve provision cover.

‘Operating expenses for the period under review grew by 9.35% to Rs 11.594 billion.

‘Total assets increased by Rs 140.683 billion or23.19% over the nine months to Rs 747.290 billion, from Rs 606.607 billion at 31st December 2013, averaging a growth of over Rs 15 billion a month.

‘Total loans and receivables to banks and customers amounted to Rs 482.940 billion at the end of the period under review, an increase of Rs 63.435 billion or 15.12% since end December 2013. This represents an average loan book growth of Rs 7 billion a month during the period.

‘Total deposits grew by Rs 53 billion or 11.75% over the nine months at an average of almost Rs 6 billion a month, to Rs 504.161 billion as at 30th September, 2014.
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SLT Group ups 9-month profits by 29% to Rs. 5 b

Maintaining the growth momentum, Sri Lanka Telecom Group yesterday said it has recorded Rs. 48 b revenue during the nine months ending September 2014 with 8% year-on-year growth.

All the revenue segments comprising Fixed, Mobile and Others have contributed to this growth. The operating cost has increased by 8% to Rs. 33.2 b during the nine months to 2014. A Rs. 673 m one-time charge on the operating expenses of the SLT resulting from an out-of-court settlement on civil litigation in relation to the import of the IPTV system in 2007/2008 has largely driven this increase in cost.

The Group Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) was up by 7% year-on-year to Rs. 14.9 b despite pressures on profitability and the EBITDA margin has been maintained at the range of 31%.

The Group reported Rs. 6.6 b profit before tax during the period under review with a year-on-year growth of 25%. The profit after tax increased by 29% from the corresponding period of the previous year, to Rs. 5 b. The Group annualised earnings per share had increased from Rs. 2.88 to Rs. 3.73 during the same period of the previous year.

The holding company reported Rs. 28.9 b revenue during the nine months to September 2014, which compared to the same period of previous year shows an increase of 7%. This increase was driven by non-traditional revenue streams such as internet, wholesale, global, international and IPTV. The company introduced a new state-of-the-art IPTV system with high capacity and this novel feature will address the increasing demand for this service.

Operating expenses of the company increased year-on-year by 9% to Rs. 21.6 b during the nine months to September 2014. The Rs. 673 m one-time charge for an out of court settlement to civil litigation has contributed to this increase. Accordingly the company EBITDA margin marginally dropped from 26.7% to 25.3% during the first nine months of 2014, compared to same period of the previous year, however under normal circumstances the margin is over 27%.

The profit before tax and after tax have dipped by 3% and 8% respectively during the period under review compared to year on year, to Rs. 3.1 b and Rs. 2 b.

Mobitel Ltd., the mobile arm of the SLT Group, continued its consistent growth feat despite intensifying competitive environment in the industry. Revenue for the first nine months of 2014 increased to Rs. 22.7 b, up by 11% compared to corresponding period in 2013.

This growth was mainly driven by the increase in Mobitel subscribers both in voice as well as in data reporting a 7% increase in the overall subscriber base. It is a testimony of the continuous investments made in latest technology, capacity enhancements and coverage expansion providing the customer a better experience with Mobitel.

Backed by the robust growth in revenue, Mobitel was able to record a growth in all key profitability indicators. When comparing the first nine months performance it is observed that company EBITDA and EBIT has grown by 9% and 8% respectively YoY.

The company’s profit after tax for the first nine months of 2014 was recorded at Rs. 2.6 b compared to a profit after tax of Rs. 1.6 b in first nine months of 2013. Thus growth in profit after tax during the period is appreciable compared to same period in last year. 

This is attributable to the growth in EBITDA and EBIT as well as favourable macro conditions that prevailed during the period.
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