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Recognizing Corporate Excellence: Business Today TOP 10 Awards 2008-2009

The Business Today TOP 10 Awards for the financial year 2008-2009 was held on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at the Hilton Colombo. The Chief Guest at this occasion was Senior Advisor to the President, Basil Rajapaksa. The Award ceremony recognized and honoured the Sri Lankan Companies that have shown strong performance and consistency during the past year and proven their business prowess by outshining others.

With a convincing lead in points, Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) was ranked number one in Business Today TOP 10 for 2008-2009. SLT has made major contributions towards the development of telecom infrastructure in the country, achieving a Group Turnover of Rs 47 billion, posting an after tax profit of Rs 7.4 billion, in the past year.


(Left To Right) Mr Mathi K. Parthipan- Chairman/Manging Director of BT Options, Mr Hari Selvanathan- Deputy Chairman of Carson Cumberbatch, Mr Harris Premaratne- CEO of Sampath Bank, Mr Rajendra Theagarajah- CEO of Hatton National Bank, Mr G C Wickremasinghe- Director Aitken Spence & Company, Mr Amitha Gooneratne- CEO of Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Mr Harry Jayawardena- Chairman of Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka, Chief Guest Senior Advisor to the President Mr Basil Rajapaksa, Mr Ajita de Zoysa- Chairman of Associated Electrical Corporation, Mrs Leisha De Silva Chandrasena- Chairperson of Sri Lanka Telecom, Mr Jayampathi Bandaranayake - Chairman of Ceylon Tobacco Company, Mr Ronnie Peiris- Group Finance Director of John Keells Holdings, Mr Arthur Senanayake- Chairman of Sampath Bank, Mr Keith Bernard - Business Today TOP 10 Analyst, Mr Sidath Kodikara - Chief Operating Officer of Cargills (Ceylon).

Securing second place was Commercial Bank of Ceylon. The bank's overall strong performance in its operations in both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh was a key factor in acquiring its current ranking.

John Keells Holdings, came in at number three, while Ceylon Tobacco Company returned to the list of top corporate performers at number four. Occupying the positions from number five to nine, respectively, were Associated Electrical Corporation, Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka, Hatton National Bank, Aitken Spence & Company and Cargills (Ceylon). Tying the tenth position was Carson Cumberbatch and Sampath Bank, having obtained equal scores.

2008-2009 was a challenging year for the corporate sector.

The global financial crisis, fluctuations in oil prices and the final stages of the high intensity conflict had a significant impact on the country's economy. Within such a context, sustaining and driving performance perhaps is a trait preserved by only the best and most daring businesses, and in Sri Lanka there are many examples of those who understand the art of remaining resilient, adapting and growing under trying conditions. The Business Today TOP 10 is a process to identify and recognise these torchbearers of Sri Lanka Inc, who in retrospection prove to be worthy of their place in the Business Today TOP 10 and continue to serve as beacons of corporate excellence and admiration.

Business Today true to its reputation as the magazine of the corporate world has since 1998 annually conducted its own survey of top corporate performers and recognized and honoured the best of the best. The survey is strictly based on published financial information of companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange.

Judged not by its own assertion but by public perception the Business Today TOP 10 company ranking has earned its place in Sri Lanka's business calendar as a judicious ranking of the top corporate performers in Sri Lanka. Encouraged by trust in and enthusiasm towards the process by the business community and by those who matter, it is with great pleasure that Business Today presented its latest ranking of companies based on their financial performance in the year 2008-2009.

As repeatedly observed in the past, competition for a position in the Business Today TOP 10 ranking is intense and closely contested. This is evident by the feedback received during the eleven years of ranking. Companies that regularly secure a place in the list have done so by demonstrating an undying determination to sustain performance and by maintaining an unwavering focus on chosen strategy. The Business Today TOP 10 companies should be proud of their success, and those aspiring for a place in the list may find inspiration in and take a cue from the more recent entrants to the list. Companies who have claimed a place in the Business Today TOP 10 know what it takes to excel and will passionately protect or improve their position.

Business Today is guided by the principle of offering equal opportunity and a level playing field for all public quoted companies of acceptable and comparable size to seize a place in the ranking, the only condition being that they qualify and score well on the Business Today TOP 10 disclosed criteria.
Established financial criteria used for selecting the Business Today TOP 10 are; Sales Turnover, Growth in Sales Turnover, Profits, Growth in Profits, Return on Equity, Growth in Earnings per Share, Market Capitalisation, Value of Shares Transacted and Value Addition. It must be noted that a high and growing top line performance by any company although necessary is not sufficient to qualify as a Business Today TOP 10 performer; profitability is a key success factor and a critical measure for corporate performance.

As before, weights applied to the respective criteria are not disclosed due to proprietary reasons. Business Today assures that weights are assigned to the aforementioned criteria after due consideration of significance of criteria and ensuring all business and industry sectors are equitably represented. Weights are applied uniformly without prejudice.

A simple observation was that some business conglomerates that were once the icons and pride of corporate Sri Lanka and who had been in the Business Today TOP 10, have of late shown signs of fatigue. Their hesitance to respond to change and poor aptitude to ensure relevance in times of change are making them look more like bystanders on an expressway. Business Today hopes these conglomerates would soon get on the road and pick up their pace to lead Sri Lanka into the future.
It is by interesting coincidence that the latest Business Today TOP 10 ranking finds two companies obtaining identical scores to enter the list at number ten. Carson Cumberbatch and Sampath Bank are the two companies, and though practice and convention may suggest that only ten companies be selected, the tenth place is offered to both companies as they rightfully qualify to be within the Business Today TOP 10 for the year 2008-2009.

As a rule of thumb the Business Today TOP 10 ranking could be viewed as a Vision Board of Corporate Sri Lanka. In a way it is a good barometer of the economy and a quick analysis of the Business Today TOP 10 list over the years provides a general view of the business trends in the country.
Business Today places on record its appreciation and admiration for those companies that have nurtured and shaped the Sri Lanka business landscape.

The Business Today TOP 10 companies were selected based on their financial performances by Business Today and Keith Bernard with the assistance of KPMG Ford Rhodes, Thornton & Co. The Business Today takes great pride in acknowledging their success for the year 2008-2009.

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