Business
Demystifying supply chain management
By Dr. (Eng.) Sanath Divakara
Supply chain management has been in vogue for many decades and has raised the interest of both academics and practitioners. The concept is more popular within international business and yet it is important to demystify it further for adapting to current practices.
As we know theories are updating fast amid the technological revolution. The current practices in many disciplines of industry undergo integration, such as, human resources, marketing, quality management, project management and operation management. The Industrial Revolution has made a tremendous contribution to the integration of many concepts, including supply chain management.
An essential part of every business model is the supply chain and its management. All the components of this chain should be thoroughly controlled. It will bring about a cost decrease and a profitability increase. Therefore, this discussion would enable our readers to understand the concept of supply chain management which is evolving through industry practices. .
Supply chain concept relies on movement of materials from supplier to customer and finance and information in the opposite direction. Evolution of supply chain management has been characterized by increasing integration of each task, a trend underlined in the 1960s. History signifies a consolidation in 1980 in identifying two areas of material management and physical distribution. The process continued toward 1990 as globalization incited functional integration and the emergence of logistics into the field.
All the functional elements that were under material management and physical distribution became part of logistics. However, there was no significant discussion on information and communication technologies. In the 2000s technology became the factor used everywhere in the world for exponential development and information and communication technology played a vital role. Industry rivalry influenced to change many concepts under the concept of modern management. Value addition, information, and financial flows were the main concepts that were under the critical discussion and completed the integration with the emergence of supply chain management.
It allows for the integrated management and control of information finance, goods and services flows, making possible a new range of production and distribution systems. Supply chain management has become a complex sequence of activities aiming at value capture and competitiveness. Supply chain is integrated logistics that connects operations and services to convert raw materials and components into finished goods and then deliver those goods to the end customers.
Supply chain management is the planning and control of a business’s flow of goods, services and information. It aims to minimize the cost and meet the needs of customers with increased efficiency. Supply chain management oversees all the processes involved in getting a product or service to customers, including procurement, logistics, warehouse, inventory control and distribution. Supply chain management is an art and science of ensuring products or services reach the right place, at the right time, right price and in the right condition. It is the intricate web of process, people, technology, and resources that make the entire journey possible, from raw materials to the hands of the end customer.
It is obvious that supply chain management is a concept that describes more than does logistics. Logistics is part of the supply chain and defined by Lambert, Stock & Ellram as the process of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient effective flow and storage of goods, services and related information from point of origin to point of consumption for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements. Logistic systems are often described as a network of nodes and links describing an interconnected web. Logistics itself includes transportation, hence no additional requirements are needed to specify logistics and transportation. Similarly, there are misnomers used in the process of supply chain management as supply chain and procurement, supply chain and logistics etc.
Business
Dialog delivers strong growth, stronger national contribution in FY 2025
Dialog Axiata PLC announced, Friday 6th February 2026, its consolidated financial results (Reviewed) for the year ended 31st December 2025. Financial results included those of Dialog Axiata PLC (the “Company”) and of the Dialog Axiata Group (the “Group”).
Group Performance
The Group delivered a strong performance across Mobile, Fixed Line and Digital Pay Television businesses recording a positive Core Revenue growth of 16% Year to Date (“YTD”). Group Headline Revenue reached Rs179.6Bn, up 5% YTD, despite the continued strategic scaling down of low-margin international wholesale business. In Q4 2025, Revenue was recorded at Rs46.5Bn up 2% Quarter-on-Quarter (“QoQ”) and 2% Year-on-Year (“YoY”).
The Group Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (“EBITDA”) reached Rs86.0Bn up 30% YTD supported by Core Revenue performance and Cost Rescaling Initiatives. On a QoQ basis Group EBITDA demonstrated a modest growth to record at Rs23.0Bn up 2% QoQ with an EBITDA margin of 49.5% in line with the Revenue performance. Group EBITDA margin reached 47.9% for FY 2025, up 9.2pp.
Group Net Profit After Tax (“NPAT”) reached Rs20.8Bn for FY 2025, up 67% YTD mainly resulting from robust EBITDA growth, despite higher tax and net finance costs. Normalized for forex impact, NPAT growth was recorded at +>100% YTD to reach Rs22.1Bn. On a QoQ basis NPAT grew 3% to reach Rs5.9Bn resulting from strong EBITDA performance.
On the back of strong operational performance, the Group recorded Operating Free Cash Flow (“OFCF”)
of Rs49.3Bn for FY 2025 up >100% YTD.
Dividend Payment to Shareholders
In line with the dividend policy and financial performance of the Group and taking into account the forward investment requirements to serve the nation’s demand for Broadband and Digital services, the Board of Directors of Dialog Axiata PLC at its meeting held on 6th February 2026, resolved to propose for consideration by the Shareholders of the Company, a dividend to ordinary shareholders amounting to Rs1.50 per share. The said dividend, if approved by shareholders, would translate to a Dividend Yield of 5.0% based on share closing price for FY 2025. The dividend so proposed will be considered for approval by the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company, the date pertaining to which would be notified in due course.
Company and Subsidiary Performance
At an entity level, Dialog Axiata PLC (the “Company”) continued to be the primary contributor to Group Revenue (76%) and Group EBITDA (74%). Aided by sustained growth in the Data segment and cost-rescaling initiatives, Company revenue was recorded at Rs135.8Bn for FY 2025, up 18% YTD, EBITDA rose 32% YTD to reach Rs63.6Bn. On a QoQ basis, Q4 2025 Revenue was recorded at Rs34.8Bn, down 1% QoQ due to a reclassification of Hubbing Revenue, while EBITDA decline 1% QoQ to record Rs17.0Bn, largely attributable to network restoration costs and donations made in relation to the Cyclone Ditwah relief efforts. Furthermore, NPAT was recorded at Rs15.6Bn for FY 2025, up 41% YTD. Normalised for forex impacts, the company NPAT was up +>100% YTD to reach Rs17.0Bn. On a QoQ basis, Company NPAT was recorded at Rs4.5Bn, down 6% QoQ.
Business
Ceylinco Life’s Pranama Scholarships reach 25-year milestone
Ceylinco Life has announced the launch of the 25th consecutive edition of its flagship Pranama Scholarships programme, marking a significant milestone in the company’s long-standing commitment to recognising and rewarding excellence among the children of its policyholders.
Under the 2026 programme, the life insurance market leader will present scholarships with a total cumulative value of Rs. 22.7 million, continuing a rewards initiative that has now been conducted without interruption for a quarter of a century. Since its inception, the Ceylinco Life Pranama Scholarships programme has benefitted 3,466 students across the country, representing a total investment of Rs. 240 million in nurturing academic achievement and outstanding performance in sports, arts and other extracurricular pursuits.
Business
Sri Lankans’ artistic genius glowingly manifests at Kala Pola ‘26
The artistic genius of Sri Lankans was amply manifest all over again at ‘Kala Pola ‘26’ which was held on February 8th at Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha Colombo 7; the usual, teeming and colourful venue for this annual grand exhibition and celebration of the work of local visual artists.
If there is one thing that has flourished memorably and resplendently in Sri Lanka over the centuries it is the artistic capability or genius of its people. It is something that all Sri Lankans could feel a sense of elation over because from the viewpoint of the arts, Sri Lanka is second to no other nation. With regard to the visual arts a veritable dazzling radiance of this inborn and persisting capability is seen at the annual open air ‘Kala Pola’.

A bird of Sri Lanka created from scraps of iron waste.
All capable visual artists, wherever they hail from in Sri Lanka, enjoy the opportunity of exhibiting their work at the ‘Kala Pola’ and this is a distinctive ‘positive’ of this annual event that draws numberless artists and viewers. There was an abundance of paintings, sketches and sculptures, for instance, and one work was as good as the other. Ample and equal space was afforded each artist. Its widely participatory and open nature enables one to describe the exhibition as exuding a profoundly democratic ethos.
Accordingly, this time around at ‘Kala Pola ‘26’ too Sri Lankans’ creative efforts were there to be viewed, studied and enjoyed in the customary carnival atmosphere where connoisseurs, local and foreign, met in a sprit of camaraderie and good cheer. Many thanks are owed once again to the George Keyt Foundation for the presentation of the event in association with the John Keells Group and the John Keells Foundation, not forgetting the Nations Trust Bank, which was the event’s Official Banking Partner. The exhibition was officially declared open by Chief Guest Marc-Andre Franche, UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka.
By Lynn Ockersz
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