Business

For a record 15th year, John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH) was ranked as the ‘Most Respected Entity’ in Sri Lanka, in the recently released edition of LMD’s Most Respected Entities issue. In terms of the 10 attribute rankings, JKH has taken the lead in five categories; namely, Quality Consciousness, Management Profile, Dynamism, Corporate Culture, and Vision.

JKH retained its position as the Most Respected Entity by garnering the highest number of votes (1,125) in a survey commissioned and conceptualised by LMD and conducted by Nielsen.

The survey was designed to rank the ‘Most Respected Entities’ in Sri Lanka based on the perceptions of respondents – and to evaluate why they’re perceived as such. The survey covered a sample of 800 respondents (managers and above) from listed companies.

John Keells Group. which celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2020, has occupied the number one position in LMD’s Most Respected rankings for 15 years since the rankings were launched in 2005.

JKH Chairman Krishan Balendra, in his interview in the August issue of LMD, said: “Our strongest attribute is our commitment to live our core values – integrity, caring, trust, innovation and excellence. Our robust corporate governance structure, professional management, and sustainable development processes stem from these values and over our rich history of 150 years, has enabled us to do the right thing, always, foster a great place to work for our people, build strong relationships with our partners and empower our communities.”

“We are humbled at being recognised as Sri Lanka’s Most Respected Entity once again in appreciation of the way we conduct our business and contribute to the nation,” Balendra added.

John Keells Holdings PLC is Sri Lanka's largest listed conglomerate on the Colombo Stock Exchange operating over 70 companies in seven diverse industry sectors. In 2020, John Keells Group celebrates 150 years of being in business and contributing to the development of the country. JKH provides employment to over 14,000 persons.

Whilst being a full member of the World Economic Forum and a participant of UN Global Compact, JKH drives its CSR vision of 'Empowering the nation for tomorrow', through John Keells Foundation and through the social entrepreneurship initiative, 'Plasticcycle', which is a catalyst in significantly reducing the plastic pollution in Sri Lanka.

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has been crowned the Best Bank in Sri Lanka in 2020 by Euromoney, one of the world’s leading financial magazines, at its Asia Awards for Excellence. This is the sixth time that Commercial Bank has been honored with this prestigious accolade by Euromoney.

The Euromoney awards are based on detailed submissions from market participants and extensive year-round research into the banking and capital markets in the region by the magazine’s editors, journalists and research team.

Other criteria included the size of the organization, although the size was not the emphasis, profitability, the ability to demonstrate growth, an outperformance against peers, and the ability to adapt to changing market conditions and client needs.

Each Bank was required to highlight its performance over the 12 months in consideration and its demonstrated ability to meet strategic targets, and provide updates on reaching milestones in previously announced initiatives.

Alongside financial performance, banks were asked to include details of their digital banking strategies and their approach to issues such as cybersecurity and corporate social responsibility.

Contributing factors to Commercial Bank’s win included the Bank ending 2019 with total assets of Rs 1.4 trillion, gross income of Rs 150 billion, a net profit of Rs 17.4 billion, a deposit base of Rs 1.07 trillion and net loans and receivables of Rs 930.7 billion.

Commercial Bank also achieved the highest profitability, highest credit rating, highest deposit base, largest lending portfolio, and the highest return on average shareholders’ funds amongst all private sector banks in Sri Lanka.

Standard Chartered Sri Lanka today announced donations totalling USD500,000 (approximately LKR 92.5 million) to support the fight against COVID-19 in the local community. The donation, which will flow through the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS), is in keeping with its brand promise to be ‘Here for good’ and is part of the Bank’s wider response to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The funding is made up of two parts: USD300,000 from Standard Chartered PLC will support emergency relief activities that target the control and containment of coronavirus, precaution against infection, and public awareness to combat misinformation on COVID-19. These funds are part of the Group’s USD5 million donation to Red Cross to support urgent medical and humanitarian support in countries across Africa and Asia from its USD50 million COVID-19 Global Charitable Fund; and USD200,000 from Standard Chartered Sri Lanka for the procurement of approximately 13,000 COVID-19 testing kits to assist in identifying suspected patients of the virus.

Commenting on the donation, Bingumal Thewarathanthri, CEO, Standard Chartered Sri Lanka said: “Standard Chartered Sri Lanka is proud to be able to contribute to the fight against COVID-19 in Sri Lanka and we are glad to partner with Red Cross programmes that reach the most vulnerable people in our communities. By working together, we are able to support the delivery of rapid and effective relief that aims to address some of the current and future challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to supporting our communities at this time of need, we have also gone an extra mile in contributing to the country’s economy in a holistic fashion in the wake of this pandemic.”

Dr. Mahesh Gunasekara, Director General at the SLRCS said: “Thanks to the generosity extended by Standard Chartered, we will be able to enhance the testing capacity of the country, which is vital to help keep people safe from COVID-19. It will also enable us to increase a plethora of coronavirus prevention activities including supporting safe environments for school children and raising awareness island-wide to combat the epidemic. We will continue supporting people most at risk in Sri Lanka, working alongside authorities in the face of this devastating COVID-19 pandemic.”

Standard Chartered Group has put in place a range of measures to support clients and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its USD50 million COVID-19 Global Charitable Fund commits USD25 million for immediate emergency relief. This includes the USD5 million for Red Cross, a USD5 million donation to UNICEF for educational support for vulnerable children across Asia and Africa and USD15 million allocated to the Group’s four regions to support emergency relief delivered by local NGOs. The remaining USD25 million is committed for economic recovery.

In addition to the donation pledge, Standard Chartered Group also put in place a comprehensive support programme for clients including USD1 billion in financing for companies that provide goods and services to help the fight against COVID-19, and those planning the switch into making products that are in high demand to fight the global pandemic. The funding also caters to a comprehensive support scheme for clients, including loan repayment holidays, fee waivers or cancellations and loan extension facilities.

Leading Sri Lankan apparel manufacturers Brandix and MAS Intimates were recipients of facilities under this programme, enabling them to adapt their production facilities for the production of personal protective equipment (PPE) for the US market, at a time when the country’s apparel industry had been severely affected by the pandemic.

Photo Caption: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa symbolically accepting the donation from Bingumal Thewarathanthri, CEO, Standard Chartered Sri Lanka (3rd left), in the presence of Dr. Mahesh Gunasekara, Director General, Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (left), Major General Suresh Sallay, Director of State Intelligence Service (2nd left), Major General Dr. Sanjeewa Munasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Health (3rd right) and Anuk De Silva, Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand & Marketing, Standard Chartered Sri Lanka (right).

The influential industry magazine Campaign Asia-Pacific, has selected Sri Lanka’s Jayomi Lokuliyana among 40 outstanding women across marketing, media, technology and communications.

Employees of Sri Lanka’s largest private sector retail bank HNB PLC, contributed a day’s pay towards furnishing of a training center for doctors at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (IDH). "The fact that Sri Lanka has made such incredible progress in combatting the spread of COVID-19 results directly from the courageous and diligent efforts of our healthcare professionals, especially those at the IDH who were on the frontlines of this battle,” HNB Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Dilshan Rodrigo stated.

 The funds were gathered through voluntary contributions drawn from the HNB team during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and will be utilized towards the installation of essential furniture and fittings for the training center.

“HNB is proud to lend our support to enhance their training and skills development initiatives and we thank our employees for stepping forward at this critical moment to offer their voluntary contributions towards this noble cause. In supporting frontline healthcare workers, we are able to make tangible improvements to health outcomes. Moving forward, we will continue to seek further opportunities to assist health authorities to overcome this pandemic,” HNB Chief Transformation Officer / Trustee HNB Sustainability Foundation, Chiranthi Cooray said.

HNB Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Dilshan Rodrigo exchanging the MOU with National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Director Dr. Hasitha Attanayake (center), National Institute of Infectious Diseases - Anura Athukorala, National Institute of Infectious Diseases – Accountant, Hirani Ranatunga, National Institute of Infectious Diseases – Matron, Geethani Udugamakorala, National Institute of Infectious Diseases- Consultant Physician, Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama, HNB Chief Transformation Officer/ Trustee HNB Sustainability Foundation ,Chiranthi Cooray, HNB Head of Human Capital Management, Indrajith Senadhira, HNB Senior Manager- Facilities Management, Roshan Fernando, HNB Officer in Charge of Sustainability, Shanel Perera and HNB Sustainability Assistant, V Disharatnam (left to right)

Through the first round of employee contributions, HNB plans to install window blinds, chairs, tables and fabricate a timber podium to make the facility user ready for training sessions. HNB’s dedicated team of engineers, together with the Sustainable Business Unit recommended the project to the HNB team after visiting the facility, which is part of a larger project under construction at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (IDH).

Previously, HNB donated 64 fire extinguishers to the hospital to protect its medical stores and supported the installation of water tanks, for a supplementary water distribution system to the wards. The bank also installed insulated flexible ducts to improve airflow at the hospital.

HNB delivered urgently required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Kurunegala and Karapitiya teaching hospitals during the height of the pandemic.

Ambassador Rodney Perera and Chairman of Export Development Board Prabhash Subasinghe discussed ways to further diversify and increase Sri Lanka’s exports to the United States of America, in keeping with the vision of the President and the new Government to strengthen the local economy and enhance export income, at a virtual meeting held on 20 August 2020. Director General of the Export Development Board (EDB) Chitranjali Dissanayake along with officials from the Embassy and the EDB also took part.

The Chairman briefed on initiatives taken by the EDB to promote several products in the recent months and the opportunities available in the United States, being the single largest buyer of Sri Lankan goods.  

While acknowledging the new initiatives of the EDB to promote exports through practical strategies, Ambassador Perera outlined the role played by the Embassy on the key facets of economic diplomacy to strengthen the efforts of the GoSL to brand Sri Lanka as a trusted supplier in the U.S.

Ambassador Perera emphasized the importance of working closely with Sri Lankan-American professionals and entrepreneurs who are well established in the U.S. in the promotion of Sri Lanka’s business interests, among others.  He stressed the need to further strengthen linkages with key economic centers such as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, Seattle and San Francisco, that offer more opportunities for Sri Lankan products and services.

Sri Lanka Telecom Group welcomes TRC’s progressive move to bring number portability. One of the first decisions taken by the new Board of SLT was to lobby for number portability in Sri Lanka. The SLT Group, being the fastest network connecting Sri Lanka’s deep rural to the world, is excited with the new possibilities number portability brings. The SLT Group stands perfectly poised to offer its best-in-class plethora of communication solutions to a transformational nation on the cusp of unparalleled development.

SLT believes this technological convenience will support His Excellency the President’s ‘Saubhagye Dakma’ to take every enterprise to its next stage of development, while introducing a new energy to a nation determined to build an export driven economy. “We are the nation’s telecommunication service provider. Our mandate is to enable the country’s transformation. Sri Lanka Telecom and Mobitel are brands of the people of Sri Lanka and we will serve every requirement necessary for personal, professional and national growth with absolute pride,” expressed Mr. Rohan Fernando, the Group Chairman of SLT.

“We are very excited to offer the number portability solution to our customers. We have invented a basket of solutions that can transform any local enterprise. We are determined to give our pre and post paid customer base unparalleled 5G speed, convenience and affordability,” added Mr. Lalith Seneviratne, the Group CEO.

SLT applauds Mr. Oshada Senanayke, the DG and his team at TRC for their forward thinking and timely implementation plan of number portability.

Corporate executive Krishantha Prasad Cooray tendered his resignation on Friday (21) from the Board of DFCC Bank PLC following a six-year stint as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the bank.

Cooray has previously held several senior executive positions and until November 2019 he served as the Chairman of Lake House holding company Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. (ANCL) and Hotel Developers Lanka PLC, the holding company of Colombo Hilton. He resigned from both chairmanships following the November 2019 Presidential Election.

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank has decided to extend the deadline of the 4% Working Capital Loan Scheme. Accordingly, COVID-19 affected businesses and individuals can submit their loan applications under this facility to respective licensed banks until 30th September 2020.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank surpassed the milestone of Rs. 100 billion loans on 18th August 2020, approving Rs.100,017 million worth of loans submitted by 36,489 applicants under this facility.

Out of approved loans, licensed banks have already disbursed more than Rs. 68.5 billion among 25,365 affected businesses and individuals island-wide as of 18th August 2020.

Out of Rs. 100 billion approved under the Scheme, 50 percent has been provided to businesses in the services sector, led by trade services, while distributing 34 percent and 16 percent among businesses in the industry sector and the agriculture sector, respectively.

The Central Bank in consultation with the Government introduced the Saubagya Covid-19 Renaissance Loan Scheme Facility in 3 phases to provide working capital loans at the interest rate of 4% per annum, with a repayment period of 24-months, including a grace period of 6-months.

The concluded quarter faced the brunt of the COVID-19 outbreak which began unfolding from mid-March 2020. The estimated revenue impact stemming from concessions offered to customers and other COVID19 associated challenges is approx. Rs.2.9 billion for 1H 2020.

While the overall performance in the month of June 2020 has improved to Pre-COVID levels, the full and sustained recovery of performance will depend on the overall recovery of the Sri Lankan economy, in particular Manufacturing, Tourism, Export sectors and easing of wallet pressure for the consumers.

Driven by the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis and the impact in Q2, Group revenue for 1st Half of 2020 recorded de-growth Year-to-Date (YTD), Quarter-on-Quarter (QoQ) and Year-on-Year (YoY) basis.

The Group recorded consolidated revenue of Rs.57.4 billion for 1H 2020, demonstrating a marginal decline of 1% YTD while Group Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) also declined by 1% YTD to reach Rs.22.9 billion for 1H 2020.

The consolidated Group revenue for Q2 2020 was recorded at Rs.28.2 billion declining 4% QoQ and 3% YoY due to the slowdown in core revenue during the quarter. The Group EBITDA was recorded at Rs.10.7 billion for Q2 2020 down 12% QoQ and 3% YoY. The Group EBITDA Margin was recorded at 39.8% for 1H 2020.

The Group Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) demonstrated a decline of 45% YTD to record at Rs.3.8 billion for 1H 2020 underpinned by the dip in topline and increased provision for bad debts.

On a QoQ and YoY basis NPAT recorded growth of 55% and 16% respectively to reach Rs.2.3 billion for Q2 2020. The Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) appreciated by 2.0% against the United States Dollar (USD) during the quarter resulting in an upliftment to NPAT.

Normalized for forex1 NPAT was recorded at Rs.4.5 billion for 1H 2020 down 18% YTD while on a QoQ and YoY basis, Q2 2020 NPAT declined 55% and 34% respectively to record at Rs.1.4 billion.

Dialog Group continued to be a significant contributor to state revenues, remitting a total of Rs.9.0 billion to the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) during the first six months of 2020. Total remittances included Direct Taxes and Levies amounting to Rs.2.6 billion and Rs.6.4 billion in Consumption Taxes collected on behalf of the GoSL.

The Group capital expenditure was prioritized in 1H 2020 to accommodate urgent network upgrades while the restrictions on importation and deployment of capex in Q2 2020 resulted in lower capex for 1H 2020 which was recorded at Rs. 6.4 billion representing a capex to revenue ratio of 11%. Capital expenditure was directed in the main towards transforming Dialog into a digital telco, by digitizing all spheres of the organization and to further strengthen the Group's leadership in Sri Lanka's Broadband sector.

The slowdown in capex supported Group Operating Free Cash Flow (“OFCF”) to improve to Rs. 14.0 billion for 1H 2020. The Group continued to exhibit a low geared balance sheet with the Net Debt to EBITDA ratio being maintained at 0.75x as at end of June 2020.

During the quarter Dialog had the distinction of being awarded the title ‘Sri Lanka’s Most Valuable Brand’ for the second consecutive year by Brand Finance, the world’s leading independent brand valuation consultancy, at the 17th edition of its annual review. Dialog also retained its brand rating of AAA for the sixth consecutive year and the title of ‘Most Valuable Telecommunications Brand’ for the 13th consecutive year, reaffirming the brand’s ethos of empowering and enriching Sri Lankan lives and enterprises.

Furthermore, Fitch Ratings re-affirmed the National Long-Term Rating of ‘AAA (lka)’ for the Group during the quarter. This rating of ‘AAA (lka)’ with a stable outlook, denotes the highest rating assigned by the agency in its National Rating scale for Sri Lanka.

At an entity level, Dialog Axiata PLC continued to contribute a major share of Group Revenue (69%) and Group EBITDA (75%). Company revenue was record at Rs. 39.6 billion for 1H 2020 and Rs. 19.1 billion for Q2 2020 declining 5% YTD, 7% QoQ and 8% YoY respectively, mainly due to the externalities alluded to earlier and the corresponding slowdown in core revenues.

Downstream of the revenue performance Company EBITDA was recorded at Rs. 17.1 billion for 1H 2020 and Rs. 7.9 billion for Q2 2020 representing a decrease of 3% YTD, 14% QoQ and 4% YoY respectively.

Company NPAT declined by 34% YTD to record at Rs. 4.5 billion for 1H 2020 albeit growing 72% QoQ and 43% YoY to reach Rs. 2.8 billion owing to Public the favorable forex movement during the quarter. Normalised for forex2, Company NPAT recorded a decline of 3% YTD, 42% QoQ and 7% YoY.

Dialog Television (DTV), continued to consolidate its leadership position in the Digital Pay Television space with a subscriber growth of 17% YoY to surpass the milestone of reaching 1.5 million homes by end June 2020. DTV revenue was significantly impacted in Q2 2020 due to provision of access to all channels during the lockdown period. Accordingly, DTV revenue declined 10% QoQ and 8% YoY to reach Rs. 2.0 billion, albeit on YTD basis revenue remained flat at Rs. 4.3 billion for 1H 2020. On the back of muted revenue performance and increased provision for bad debts, DTV EBITDA declined by 1% YTD to reach Rs. 1.1 billion for 1H 2020. Consequently, DTV Net Loss increased to Rs. 625 million in 1H 2020 relative to a Net Loss of Rs. 269 million for the corresponding period in 2019.

Dialog Broadband Networks (DBN) featuring the Group’s Fixed Telecommunications, Broadband and International Businesses recorded revenue of Rs. 15.3 billion for 1H 2020 and Rs. 7.9 billion for Q2 2020 up 14% YTD, 7% QoQ and 18% YoY respectively, due to growth in Fixed Broadband and wholesale revenues.

Despite the strong revenue performance, DBN EBITDA declined 3% YTD to reach Rs. 4.6 billion for 1H 2020 owing to increased provision for bad debts. Accordingly, DBN recorded a Net Loss of Rs. 45 million for 1H 2020 relative to a Net Profit of Rs. 0.8 billion for the corresponding period in 2019.

Ideamart, a global award-winning platform for developers and content providers presented by Dialog Axiata PLC, partnered Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka (Hutch) to enable over 18,000 Ideamart app developers to access Hutch’s Network Infrastructure through APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). Ideamart enables any developer, technopreneur or entrepreneur with an idea to join, use unutilized telco assets, create their own mobility services, and monetize them with zero risks with no up-front fee.

 Following the integration of Hutch 072 & 078 Network Infrastructure, Ideamart will now provide Sri Lankan Developers, access to over 18 Million subscribers across Dialog, Hutch and Airtel Mobile Networks. This partnership will enable Hutch subscribers to avail thousands of applications, development infrastructure and value-added services available on the platform and the integration is set to greatly benefit the Ideamart developer community (Asia’s largest digital services eco system) through the expansion of the market place for their innovations and services.

Commenting on the partnership, Anthony Rodrigo, Group Chief Innovation Officer & Chief Architect at Dialog Axiata PLC said, “We are pleased to have partnered with Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka to empower thousands of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs with a developer platform to bring their ideas to life and to deliver exceptional services and experiences to millions of subscribers across the nation.”

“We are extremely delighted to support budding entrepreneurs with our state-of-the-art network infrastructure. We consider that digital inclusivity is of utmost importance at present and as mobile-telco providers, we need to collaborate and carry out more initiatives to create a solid market place for app developers.” shared Thirukumar Nadarasa, Chief Executive Officer of Hutch.

Ideamart will continue to deliver a host of new Mobile Network APIs, providing a platform for increasingly advanced levels of application development and service functionality. This historic partnership will open up more avenues for Hutch and Dialog Ideamart to empower entrepreneurs and encourage them to come up with innovations.

Developers and Service Providers can visit www.ideamart.io to create telco API based services.

Sri Lanka’s foremost conglomerate, John Keells Holdings (JKH) Group’s profit before tax (PBT) is a negative Rs.2.43 billion in the first quarter of the financial year 2020/21 compared to the Rs.1.36 billion recorded in the previous financial year, the latest annual financials of the JKH highlights.