Business
Orient Finance continues growth momentum in its 40th anniversary year
Posting a steady performance, Orient Finance PLC recorded a profit before tax of LKR 59 Mn for the first quarter of the financial year 2021-22, indicating a growth of 217 per cent in comparison to the corresponding period in the previous financial year.
The Company’s net operating income for the same period increased by 125 per cent from LKR 149 Mn to LKR 336 Mn. Meanwhile, the company’s total assets for the period stood at LKR 15 Bn in comparison to LKR 14 Bn recorded during the corresponding period in the previous financial year.
“The pandemic triggered unprecedented economic and social challenges that negatively impacted all Sri Lankans. As a responsible corporate entity that works not only to achieve business success but also assist our customers build and maintain financial stability, the prevailing status quo has been exceptionally challenging to us. However, we adopted a prudent, customer centered approach to pursue sustainable growth during the period. As a result, we achieved steady growth and succeeded in helping our customers to continue to build wealth. Moreover, our advantageous position as part of the Janashakthi Group played a crucial role in retaining stakeholder confidence. While the prevalent pandemic will continue to pose complex economic challenges, we remain confident of our ability to pursue sustainable growth and create value for all stakeholders,” commented Anil Tittawella, Chairman of Orient Finance PLC.
Orient Finance recently celebrated its 40th year since inception, illustrating the Company’s stability and the trust that it has garnered over the years.
Speaking about the Company’s performance and future growth K. M. M. Jabir, Director and Chief Executive Office of Orient Finance PLC said, “As we step into a new era after celebrating our 40th year as a trusted and reputed financial institution in Sri Lanka, our first quarter performance gives us the strength to continue to pursue long-term growth. While we continue to navigate the current challenging economic environment with market insights and exceptional customer care, we have already laid out strategic growth objectives to meet our customers’ expectations to achieve lasting success in the years to come.”
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.
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.
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.
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