Business

CSE bounces back despite SL’s dismal Q1 growth stats

Published

4 years ago

2022/06/30

By Hiran H.Senewiratne

The CSE did not react yesterday to the survey done by the US Consumer Confidence Survey, when the US and all Asian stock markets were recorded as performing negatively, stock market analysts said.

The US survey revealed that United States’ consumer confidence edged lower in May as Americans’ view of their present and future prospects dimmed in the midst of persistent inflation.

The Conference Board said on Tuesday that its consumer confidence index dipped to 106.4 in May, still a strong reading from 108.6 in April.

Amid those developments the CSE bounced back following the previous days’ dip without a proper fundamental base. However, the economy in the first quarter had contracted by 1.6 per cent, the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) revealed yesterday.

It was confirming that the country was in bad shape long before the current crisis emerged. The dismal performance in the first quarter is despite the 2021 fourth quarter registering a 1.8% growth, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and 3.3 per cent growth overall last year. In 2021 1Q the economy grew by 4%.

Agriculture and Industrial sectors suffered contractions of 6.8 per cent and 4.7 per cent respectively in 1Q of 2022, while the Service sector recorded a trivial expansion of 0.7per cent when compared to these values in the first quarter of year 2021. This would likely affect listed companies that engaged in the agriculture and industrial sectors, market analysts said.

Amid those developments both indices moved upwards. All Share Price Index went up by 53.2 points and S and P SL20 rose by 25.2 points. Turnover stood at Rs 778 million with three crossings. Those crossings were reported in Lanka IOC, which crossed 1.7 million shares to the tune of Rs 115.5 million and its shares traded at Rs 68, Print Care two million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 60 million; its shares traded at Rs 30 and Access Engineering 2.5 million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 25 million; its shares traded at Rs 10.

In the retail market, top seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were, Expolanka Holdings Rs 149.2 million (151,000 shares traded), Lanka IOC Rs 84.4 million (1.2 million shares traded), HNB Rs 61.4 million (786,000 shares traded), Browns Investments Rs 47.5 million (6.3 million shares traded), Vallibel One Rs 26.6 million (one million shares traded), LOLC Finance Rs 16.1 million (2.4 million shares traded) and Sampath Bank 14.8 million (494,000 shares traded). During the day 34.7 million share volumes changed hands in 8000 transactions.

Yesterday the Central Bank announced the US dollar rate. Its buying rate was Rs 355.81 and the selling rate Rs 367.07.

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Business

Ceylinco Life agent among three global finalists for award

Published

5 hours ago

2026/09/27

Thilina Walpola

Ceylinco Life’s Ambalantota branch agent AIP Manjula

Ceylinco Life’s Ambalantota branch agent AIP Manjula has been named one of three global finalists for the prestigious Insurance Agent of the Year award at the 11th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards (ATLAA) 2026.

The recognition places a Sri Lankan insurance professional among the finalists in a regional field spanning South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

Ceylinco Life said the achievement reflected the calibre and customer-focused approach of its agency force, while recognising Manjula’s professionalism and commitment to policyholders.

The award evaluates insurance agents on criteria extending beyond sales performance, including ethical conduct, client service, policy persistency, digital adoption, innovative practices and contributions to the insurance industry and community.

The awards are organised by Asia Advisers Network and Asia Insurance Review, with LIMRA as co-organiser. An independent judging and balloting process is monitored by KPMG as the official scrutineer. The judging panel comprises senior insurance executives, association presidents and industry experts from across the Asia-Pacific region.

Business

CEAT Kelani retains AA+ rating for sixth year

Published

5 hours ago

2026/09/27

Thilina Walpola

CEAT Kelani Holdings (CKH) has retained its National Long-Term Rating of ‘AA+(lka)’ with a Stable Outlook from Fitch Ratings for the sixth consecutive year, reflecting the company’s financial resilience and leading position in Sri Lanka’s pneumatic tyre market.

The ‘AA+(lka)’ rating, the second-highest on Fitch’s national scale, indicates a very strong capacity to meet financial commitments.

Fitch said CKH’s established market leadership and resilient financial profile remained key strengths, while noting its exposure to price-sensitive, cyclical and highly competitive markets.

The Stable Outlook reflects expectations that the company will maintain its market position despite rising input costs and increasing competition from imported tyres, while preserving adequate credit metrics during periods of weaker earnings and higher investment.

Fitch expects CKH’s established brand, extensive dealer network and adaptive pricing strategies to support its market position. Planned production facility upgrades are also expected to improve product quality, particularly in the radial tyre segment.

The rating agency expects near-term pressure on margins from higher raw material and energy costs but said the company’s low leverage and sound liquidity would provide a cushion.

CKH Chairman Chanaka De Silva said the rating reinforced the company’s focus on disciplined financial management, operational adaptability and long-term investment.

Business

SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise launches Premium Cloud

Published

5 hours ago

2026/09/27

Thilina Walpola

Riyaaz Rasheed, CEO, SLT-MOBITEL, and Faiz Shakir, VP Sales – Nutanix, Southern Asia, unveil SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise Premium Cloud Powered by Nutanix to support enterprise digital transformation

SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise, the enterprise services arm of Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, has launched its Premium Cloud service powered by Nutanix, aimed at helping Sri Lankan businesses modernise their IT infrastructure and accelerate digital transformation.

The service was unveiled at the Lanka Tech Summit 2026 held recently at ITC Ratnadipa, Colombo.

The Premium Cloud combines hybrid multi-cloud capabilities with enterprise-grade performance, enabling businesses to run mission-critical workloads, scale cloud deployments and strengthen business continuity through disaster recovery capabilities.

Hosted on SLT-MOBITEL’s Tier III data centre infrastructure, the platform is designed to provide enhanced security, reliability and flexibility while supporting the growing technology requirements of enterprises.

SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise said the platform would also support organisations seeking to adopt AI-ready capabilities and improve the management and performance of IT workloads.

A key feature of the launch was SLT-MOBITEL Enterprise joining the Nutanix Elevate Service Provider Program (NESPP), which the company said made it the first service provider in the region to join the programme.

Powered by Nutanix’s hybrid multicloud platform, the service enables application and data mobility across on-premises environments, public clouds and edge locations.

The company said the partnership combined Nutanix’s cloud technology with SLT-MOBITEL’s local expertise and support, strengthening its multi-cloud portfolio.