|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Wednesday, 11 February 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Business | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
Aitken Spence records Rs. 706.4 million profit in nine months Aitken Spence results for the nine months to December 31, 2003 reflects a profit of Rs. 706.4 million which is 228% growth. The blue chip conglomerate has already bettered last year's profit which was Rs.525 million at year end. Turnover improved 30% and profit before tax by 179%. Earnings per share for the period was Rs. 26.18 nearly three times that recorded in the same period last year. Net Assets per share at December 31, was Rs. 202.14 and the debt equity ratio was a comfortable 0.36. Shareholders' Funds stood at Rs. 5.3 billion giving rise to a healthy return on capital. The main driving factors for this remarkable growth were the strong performance of the tourism and infrastructure development sectors together with all other sectors contributing positively. The 27% increase in tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka during the period enabled the Inbound Travel division to record a profit growth of nearly 180%. The local hotels with a strong performance from the Maldives properties, which had an excellent third quarter with the onset of the winter season resulted in a 62% profit growth over last year. Most of the Group's hotels are in the middle to up-market category were able to register high occupancies. The infrastructure development sector made a significant contribution to profits with the 20MW power plant in Matara going into its second year of operation and the inclusion of nine months results of the Horana plant which was in operation for only two weeks of the corresponding period in the previous year. The company has commenced construction work on the 100 MW power plant in Embilipitiya. Performance from the freight forwarding division and a turnaround in the garment manufacturing division also helped boost profits. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
