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Ceylinco Life’s Toastmasters Club marches on to 9th year

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The new Executive Committee of Ceylinco Life’s Toastmasters Club, with the Company’s senior management.

Ceylinco Life hosted the ninth installation ceremony of its Toastmasters Club recently, during which a new executive committee was appointed, new members were welcomed, and awards and accolades were bestowed upon outstanding members of the past year.

Ms Ruvini de Silva, Senior Assistant Manager Customer Service was appointed the new President of the Club to lead the executive committee comprising of Ravi De Mel as Vice President Education, Ms Izzath Ramlan as Vice President Membership, Mohammadhu Riham as Vice President Public Relations, Ms Thilini Kularathne as Secretary, Ms Keshani Samarakoon as Treasurer and Ms. Anshila Perera as Sergeant-at-Arms.

Five Toastmasters were honoured for completing Level Five of the Educational Programme during the year. Gayan Lakmal Alwis and Ms Ruvini de Silva were honoured for the completion of Level Five of the ‘Dynamic Leadership’ Path (DL5) which included focusing on leadership and recognising the need to adapt styles based on the situation and the people they lead, among others. Samitha Hemachandra , Chulaka Kumarasinghe, and Milinda Peiris were honoured for completing the fifth level of the ‘Presentation Mastery’ Path (PM5) which included a project designed to demonstrate expertise in preparing to speak professionally.

The ‘Triple Crown Award,’ one of the most prestigious educational awards in Toastmasters, presented to members who have achieved three or more educational and leadership awards within a programme year was presented to Mr Samitha Hemachandra, Mr Gayan Lakmal Alwis, Mr Chulaka Kumarasinghe, Ms Ruvini de Silva, Mr Milinda Peiris, and Mr Ravi De Mel.

Additionally, four members who demonstrated exceptional skills to bring recognition to the club and the Ceylinco Life brand among the Toastmasters fraternity were inducted to the Ceylinco Life Toastmasters Club – Hall of Fame of 2022. This honour was bestowed upon Mr Chulaka Kumarasinghe, for his leadership in the division, Mr Gayan Lakmal Alwis for winning the Table Topics Division contest, Mr Milinda Peiris for his achievement as first runner-up in the Humorous Speech contest in the area level, and Mr Kamal Rupasiri for demonstrating leadership through the Club Quality Awards.

The Club honored Mr Chulaka Kumarasinghe, Distinguished Toastmaster, with the Honorary Lifetime Award for his new appointment as the Assistant Division Director in the Division and his achievements in the education and leadership roles during the year.

During the event, six new members were inducted to the Ceylinco Life Toastmasters Club which had 24 registered members. As a testament to its prowess in communication and leadership of its members, the club has been accorded ‘Distinguished’ status every year since it came into being.

Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development with a membership of more than 280,000. Members improve their speaking and leadership skills by attending one of the 14,700 clubs in 144 countries that make up the global network of meeting locations.

Adjudged the ‘Most Valuable Life Insurance Brand in Sri Lanka’ by Brand Finance and certified a ‘Great Workplace’ in Sri Lanka for the third consecutive year in 2022, Ceylinco Life was declared Sri Lanka’s Service Brand of the Year by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) in 2021 and won the SLIM Kantar Peoples Award as the Most Popular Life Insurance Company in Sri Lanka for the 16th consecutive year, also in 2021. Ceylinco Life has been the country’s leading life insurer for more than half of the 34 years it has been in existence. Other accolades won in respect of 2021 include the ‘Most Popular Service Provider’ in Sri Lanka’s Life Insurance industry from LMD, the ‘Most Valuable Life Insurance Brand’ in Sri Lanka from Brand Finance, one of the 10 Most Admired Companies in Sri Lanka from the International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (ICCSL) in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and one of the 10 Best Workplaces in Sri Lanka’s Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector from Great Place to Work.

Ceylinco Life has close to a million lives covered by active policies and provides innovative life insurance solutions which offer protection while de-risking the goals and ambitions of the Company’s policyholders.



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Dialog delivers strong growth, stronger national contribution in FY 2025

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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.

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Ceylinco Life’s Pranama Scholarships reach 25-year milestone

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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.

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Sri Lankans’ artistic genius glowingly manifests at Kala Pola ‘26

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The spirit of Sri Lanka as it was ably captured by an artist.

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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