Aitken Spence sees PAT up by 6.6% to Rs. 4.9 bn for FY 14/15
View(s):Blue chip conglomerate Aitken Spence PLC’s profit before tax was Rs 5.7 billion and profit after tax was Rs. 4.9 billion, a growth of 4.9 per cent and 6.6 per cent respectively, a company media statement said.
The group’s annual revenue rose by a marginal 0.7 per cent to Rs. 35.3 billion whilst earnings per share declined by 2.5 per cent to Rs. 8.82 for the financial year, it added.
“Although this year has been a difficult year in terms of performance, it must be noted that while riding the wave of external challenges, we have turned inwards to strengthen ourselves to reap the opportunities of the future. We are thus optimistic about the future growth of the company,” Aitken Spence PLC’s Chairman, Harry Jayawardena was quoted as saying.
The revenue of the tourism sector for the financial year grew by 5.1 per cent to Rs. 17.8 billion whilst recording a profit before tax of Rs. 4.2 billion and a profit after tax of Rs. 3.7 billion, a decline of 2.2 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively, for the year. The decline in the tourism sector bottom line was mainly due to the decline in profits from hotels in Sri Lanka and overseas which was primarily attributable to the adverse impacts of the global political and economic climate. The company owns and manages a chain of hotels in Sri Lanka, Maldives, Oman and India,” the statement said. The group’s management segment performed remarkably well. Aitken Spence Travels, which is a largest destination management company during 2014/15, became the first and only company to handle 100,000 tourists to the country within a financial year, it added.
“The coming year will be an exciting one for the sector, as we add Heritance Negombo to our portfolio and also expand capacity at The Sands, Kalutara by 91 rooms. Construction of the RIU Hotel in Ahungalla is well on target and we are excited by the possibilities offered by our partnership with RIU, and its parent company TUI,” J M S Brito, Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Aitken Spence PLC was quoted as saying.
Annual revenue for the Maritime Logistics sector increased by 3.9 per cent to Rs. 7.7 billion whilst profits before tax increased by 4.3 per cent to Rs. 735 million and profit after tax increased by 8.1 per cent to Rs. 614 million. “Services sector reported a revenue of Rs. 1.1 billion for the financial year which was a growth of 15.1 per cent. The sector’s profit before tax stood at Rs 132 million, a decline of 38 per cent compared to the previous year.”