As part of its commitment to advancing women’s empowerment and building a stronger leadership pipeline, Eswaran Brothers Exports (EB), a leading tea manufacturer in Sri Lanka, launched its flagship women’s leadership initiative, She Transforms, a customized six-month leadership development journey. Developed with award-winning leadership expert Senela Jayasuriya and supported by Value for Women, the programme forms a key pillar of the Company’s wider gender agenda focused on leadership capacity building, inclusion and long-term institutional change.

Women make up 44% of Eswaran Brothers’ workforce, yet only 23% held senior roles at the time of an initial gender diagnostic conducted with Value for Women and supported by FMO, the Dutch Development Finance Bank. The assessment found that despite their potential, many women faced unclear career pathways and limited structural support at critical life stages.

In response, Eswaran Brothers introduced strategic mindset and policy interventions designed to remove barriers and create a more enabling environment for women to grow and lead. These efforts included mentorship opportunities, enhanced support for employees returning from maternity leave, coaching for managers, and initiatives aimed at strengthening inclusion and career progression across the organization.

The CSE continued to be vexed by deleterious trends yesterday. Middle East uncertainties continued to take their toll.

The All Share Price Index went down by 87.39 points while S and P SL20 declined by 14.53 points. Turnover stood at Rs 2 billion with seven crossings.

Those crossings were reported at JKH which crossed 13.4 million shares to the tune of Rs 258 million and its shares traded at Rs 19.90, CCS 1 million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 137 million; its shares traded at Rs 137, Chevron Lubricants 513,000 shares crossed for Rs 102 million; its shares traded at Rs 198, Pan Asia 950,000 shares crossed for Rs 52 million; its shares sold at Rs 55, Access Engineering 500,000 shares crossed for Rs 38.5 million; its shares sold at Rs 77, Digital Mobility Solutions 200,000 shares crossed for Rs 33.4 million; its shares fetched Rs 157 and Dialog Axiata 500,000 shares crossed to the tune of Rs 22 million; its shares traded at Rs 44.

In the retail market top seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; Haycarb Rs 95.8 million (632,700 shares traded), CCS Rs 66.6 million (483,000 shares traded), Aitken Spence Rs 58.7 million (425,000 shares traded), HNB Rs 57.6 million (6.2 million shares traded), Chevron Lubricant Rs 53.6 million (270,000 shares traded), Pan Asia Rs 45.7 million (828,000 shares traded) and Colombo Dockyard Rs 40 million (306,000 shares traded). During the day 82 million share volumes changed hands in 20752 transactions.

It is said that manufacturing sector counters, especially JKH, performed well. Further, banking sector counters, especially HNB and Pan Asia, performed well.

Yesterday the rupee was quoted at Rs 331.50/332.50 to the US dollar in the spot market on, dealers said, after being quoted at Rs 331.50/332.00 1 week spot at close the previous day, while bond yields were up.

The telegraphic transfer rate for Sri Lanka’s rupee against the US dollar was 327.00 buying, 336.00 selling; euro was 377.8880 buying, 391.8050 selling; and the pound was buying 438.8918, selling 452.9374.

By Hiran H. Senewiratne

LOLC Holdings PLC delivered a strong operating performance for the year ended 31 March 2026, underpinned by robust income growth, a significant expansion in core operating profitability and continued scale-up of its financial services-led diversified business model. With a global operating presence across 27 countries, the Group continues to strengthen its position as Sri Lanka’s most internationally diversified conglomerates, combining financial services scale with strategic interests across plantations, agri, manufacturing, trading, leisure, real estate and insurance.

The Group recorded a 49% increase in results from operating activities, which rose to Rs. 71.5 billion in FY2026 from Rs. 47.9 billion in the previous year. This performance was supported by a strong expansion in gross income, which increased by 28% to Rs. 430.3 billion from Rs. 336.2 billion.

Operating profit before depreciation and amortisation also strengthened materially, increasing to approximately Rs. 88.8 billion from approximately Rs. 60.6 billion in FY2025. This reflects the enhanced earnings capacity of the Group’s underlying businesses and the growing contribution from its diversified operating platform.

The results reaffirm LOLC’s position as one of Sri Lanka’s most globally diversified conglomerates, with a business model increasingly driven by scale, international reach, disciplined execution and recurring operating strength.

Strong operating profitability reflects business momentum

The sharp improvement in operating profitability was the defining feature of the Group’s FY2026 performance. Results from operating activities increased by Rs. 23.6 billion during the year, reflecting stronger contribution from key business verticals and improved operating leverage across the Group.

The increase in gross income to Rs. 430.3 billion demonstrates the continued expansion of LOLC’s income-generating asset base and the Group’s ability to build revenue momentum across multiple sectors and geographies.

Net interest income increased to Rs. 119.9 billion from Rs. 105.6 billion, while revenue rose to Rs. 158.2 billion from Rs. 109.2 billion. Gross profit also increased to Rs. 61.4 billion from Rs. 43.5 billion, further strengthening the Group’s operating platform.

Profit after tax stood at Rs. 23.4 billion in FY2026, with the year-on-year movement primarily reflecting the impact of one-off items recognised in the comparative period. The Group’s FY2026 performance was anchored by stronger recurring operating profits, supported by the 49% increase in results from operating activities.