11-Nov-2013 Interim Financial Statements 30-09-2013

ASIAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE, SRI LANKA TELECOM, PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT, DFCC BANK, RENUKA CITY HOTEL, CARGO BOAT DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, HUNTERS & COMPANY , C. W. MACKIE, THE NUWARA ELIYA HOTELS COMPANY , VALLIBEL POWER ERATHNA, KELANI TYRES, PEOPLE`S MERCHANT FINANCE, HEMAS HOLDINGS

Interim Financial Statements for the period ended 30-09-2013 have been uploaded on the CSE website.

The DFCC Group recorded a consolidated profit after tax of Rs 1,239m for the second quarter ended September 30, 2013 compared with Rs 1,428m in the corresponding period of the previous year (comparable period).

Apart from the banking business which contributed Rs 1,117m to profit after tax and is analysed below, the investment banking joint venture, Acuity Partners (Pvt) Limited (APL) contributed Rs 66 m in the current period (Rs 6m in the comparable period). The contribution from all other subsidiaries and associate company collectively was Rs 56 m in the current period (Rs 77m in the comparable period).

The banking business of the DFCC Group is undertaken by DFCC Bank (DFCC), a licensed specialized bank and 99 % owned subsidiary DFCC Vardhana Bank (DVB), a licensed commercial bank. Both banks function as one economic entity and as such it is appropriate to analyse the consolidated performance of the two banks as DFCC Banking Business (DBB). A consolidated Income statement for DBB has been released to the Colombo Stock Exchange as supplementary financial information. This statement was derived from the interim financial statements. Since the financial year of DVB ends in December, the accounts of DVB are consolidated with a 3 month lag.

Net Interest Income (NII) of DBB for the period increased by 24% from Rs 3,303m to Rs 4,092m although total loans and advances (net of accrued interest) only increased by 8.7% year on year to Rs 108,223m as at 30 September 2013.

The reported NII does not include the cost of hedging exchange rate risk arising from funding swaps where the DBB swaps foreign currency to LKR to fund LKR assets as part of its funding strategy. Foreign exchange loss reported under ‘other operating income for the current period of LKR 358m is net of the cost arising from funding swaps of Rs 373m. The revised foreign exchange gain after adjusting for the swap cost for the current period amounts to Rs 15m.

The forward exchange contracts are accounted as a derivative and its fair value changes are reported as ‘net gain / (loss) from financial instruments at fair value through profit or loss’ in the income statement.

Net fee and commission income of DBB in the current period was Rs 373m an increase of 15% over Rs 325 m in the previous comparable period. This is generated largely by DVB the commercial banking subsidiary since this source of income is largely associated with trade finance and commercial banking services.

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Hemas Holdings Plc yesterday reported consolidated revenues of Rs. 14.9 billion, a growth of 15.2% and an operating profit of Rs. 1.5 billion, a growth of 41.6%. Further group earnings grew by 36.3%, to close the six month period under review at Rs. 984 million.

Revenue growth was mainly driven by the healthcare, FMCG and transportation sectors, which grew by
28.9%, 27.0% and 47.5%, respectively. The growth seen in group operating profit and earnings was largely due to the capital gain realised in transferring 21 acres of property at Tangalle to a joint venture with Minor International, formed for the purpose of developing a luxury resort.

Conversely, start-up losses at the new hospital at Thalawathugoda and the closure of Club Hotel Dolphin for refurbishment negatively impacted group profits over the six months ending 30
September 2013.

“The underlying business activity of the group, adjusted for these one-off factors, has seen a notable growth, with operating profits posting a growth of 32.6% on a normalised basis. The excellent first half enjoyed by our hydro power plants, increased margins enjoyed by our FMCG business and the improved performance of the transportation sector contributed positively to both the group operating profits and earnings for the period,” Hemas Chairman and Chief Executive Husein Esufally said in his review accompanying interim results.

FMCG
The FMCG sector reported an impressive first half, recording a revenue growth of 27% to reach Rs. 4.7 billion and an operating profit growth of 24.3% to Rs. 438 million. The encouraging performance of the sector was largely driven by the growth in oral care, home care and personal wash categories which grew at 25.3%, 24.9% and 18.5% respectively. Clogard, the oral care brand, and Diva the detergent powder showed notable performances in terms of contribution towards both the top line and bottom line during the first half, whilst adult beauty soap Velvet was the forerunner of the personal wash category growth.
The second quarter proved to be very eventful with many re-launches, beginning with Velvet being re-launched in July, refreshing the brand and making it more relevant to the consumer. The re-launch also included the introduction of two new variants, Kohomba and Aloe, with improved packaging. Since the re-launch the brand has performed well.

During the quarter, male fragrance brand Gold was re-launched with the intention of contemporising the brand to cater to dynamic consumer needs. Oral care brand Clogard was repositioned in mid-September as an anti-cavity toothpaste, strengthening its product position and improving competitiveness within its market space. Since its re-launch, Clogard has seen significant growth in both its contribution to the sector top line and bottom line.

Healthcare
The healthcare sector registered revenues of Rs. 5.8 billion, a growth of 28.9% over the same period last year. This was driven by the positive performance of the pharmaceutical distribution and was augmented by the recent addition to the hospital chain at Thalawathugoda. Operating profits of the sector increased marginally by 1.4% to reach Rs. 426 million, dampened by the start-up losses of the new hospital.

The pharmaceuticals business enjoyed a good first half, posting a 17.8% growth in revenue and 20.4% improvement in operating profits, backed by an increase in sales volumes during the quarter. The performance of the pharmaceutical business helped strengthen its market leadership position by increasing its market share to 18.6% (source: IMS). The hospital business experienced a slow year, with the hospitals in both Wattala and the South experiencing marginal improvements in both the top-line and bottom-line, while the new hospital at Thalawathugoda saw a steady pick-up in volumes since its commencement in June 2013.

The new addition to Hemas Group, J.L. Morison Sons and Jones (Ceylon) PLC performed well during the period under review. The business posted an operating profit growth of 14.2% to record Rs. 96 million and an earnings growth of 22.3% to post Rs. 80 million, for the period ending 30 September 2013. Post-acquisition, measures were taken to reassign the OTC portfolio of Hemas Pharmaceuticals under J.L.
Morison, strengthening the product offering in line with the overall group OTC strategy. Going forward, the group expects to build on and strengthen the manufacturing capabilities of the business to cater to the expected consumer demand.

Leisure
The leisure sector recorded revenue of Rs. 452 million and an operating loss of Rs. 54 million for the first half, resulting in a 31.0% and a 144.5% decline, respectively, primarily due to the closure of Hotel Sigiriya and Club Hotel Dolphin during the period under review.

Hotel Sigiriya was reopened after renovations on 1 August 2013 and experienced satisfactory levels of occupancy. With the reopening of Club Hotel Dolphin on 1 November 2013, the sector is geared for a busy winter season. The growth in tourist arrivals during the quarter reached 20%, however, inconsistency in conversion to room nights at graded establishments persisted during the quarter.

Despite the shortage of the total room inventory, the hotels have recorded satisfactory occupancy levels in excess of 50% during what is considered an off-peak season. The group is looking forward to a positive third quarter with the reopening of Hotel Dolphin and the encouraging forward bookings for the upcoming winter season. Hemas has been successful in reaching new markets through constant improvements to its own web booking engine and will continuously work towards maintaining strong occupancy levels.

Transportation
The transportation sector posted a revenue of Rs. 685 million, a 47.5% growth, much of it driven by the new venture Hemas Logistics, while operating profit recorded a growth of 19.2% to reach Rs. 223 million during the first half of the year. The aviation segment enjoyed a strong performance with increased passenger and cargo markets while Hemas Travels increased its market share among top travel agencies.

The crew boat service business at the Hambantota Port successfully completed its first year of operation in September 2013. However, the maritime segment results were hindered by lower transshipment volumes with a lesser number of ships calling at the port. The logistics segment including the warehouse and haulage activities which performed well during the first half of the year and Hemas plans to commence operations of a fully-fledged integrated logistics facility in the months to come.

Power
The power sector recorded a drop in revenue growth of 15.8% to post Rs. 2.6 billion largely impacted by the drop in generation at the thermal power plant Heladhanavi, resulting from the curtailment imposed by the CEB. In spite of this, the sector posted a significant increase in operating profit to achieve Rs. 295 million for the first half, contributed by the hydro power plants which experienced a higher rainfall around the catchment areas.

The performance of hydro power assets under Pan Asian Power PLC, Rath Ganga and Manelwala also contributed to strengthen the sector’s profitability during the period under review.

As Hemas looks to the future, the group has also instituted a transformation plan designed to accelerate growth. Steven Enderby will be replace Husein Esufally as Group Chief Executive Officer from 1
April 2014, and will function as Deputy CEO with immediate effect. Both Enderby and the Group Chief Financial Officer Malinga Arsakularatane, have been appointed to the Board of Hemas Holdings PLC. Esufally will function as Chairman and CEO until 31 March 2014, after which he will assume the position of Non-Executive Chairman.

Along with these leadership changes, there are several other exciting initiatives that will be rolled out during the second half of the year, giving Hemas confidence that it can close out the year on a positive note.
http://www.ft.lk/2013/11/12/hemas-reports-good-performance-in-2q/

Nov 12, 2013 (LBO) - Profits at Sri Lanka Telecom, the island's only wireline operator which also has a mobile unit, fell 15 percent from a year earlier to 1.56 billion rupees dragged down by forex losses, interim accounts showed.

The group reported earnings of 87 cents per share. For the six months to September, the group reported earnings of 2.16 rupees per share on total profits of 3.1 billion rupees, which were up 24 percent.

The stock closed at 38.00 rupees, down 10 cents.

In the September quarter revenues were up 7 percent to 15.44 billion rupees, expenses were up 6 percent to 10.2 billion rupees and gross profits rose 10 percent to 5.1 billion rupees.

Interest expenses were down 31 percent to 174 million rupees but the group had forex losses of 247 million rupees, compared to gains of 441 million rupees a year earlier.
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Asian Alliance Insurance PLC (AAI) reported a premium income of Rs 3 billion for the nine months ended 30 September 2013, up 31% from a year earlier, interim financial results showed.

Life insurance premium income increased 26% year-on-year to Rs 1.8 billion and non-life premium income increased 41% to Rs 1.2 billion.

"The loss of Rs 118 million reported for the nine-month period does not include the life profit transfer that is undertaken per industry practice at year-end. The company is expecting to close the year on a strong note further buoyed by strong gains on investment income. These exceptional results are the result of a highly focused strategy implemented by the company that is now part of the Softlogic Group. A number of initiatives that will synergize group strength have been implemented and the benefit of these will be evident to customers of AAI in the months to come," the company said in a statement.

AAI Director/CEO Ramal Jasinghe, commenting on the company's performance said, "We have made huge strides in developing our business and are fully focused on achieving sustainable growth and profitability as we approach the mandatory splitting in 2015. We see great prospects ahead and are working towards delivering one of the finest propositions in the Industry."
http://ceylontoday.lk/22-47328-news-detail-aai-top-line-grows-31.html

Nov 12, 2013 (LBO) - Profits at Sri Lanka's Kelani Tyres, a joint venture with India's CEAT rose 43 percent to 187 million rupees in the September 2013 quarter from a year earlier, helped by stable costs, interim accounts showed.

The firm reported earnings of 2.33 rupees per share for the quarter. In the six months to September the group reported earnings of 4.18 rupees per share on total profits of 336 million rupees up from 211 million rupees a year earlier.

The firm said revenues rose 9 percent to 1.4 billion rupees in the September quarter from a year earlier with costs rising at a slower 2.9 percent to 1.0 billion rupees helping gross profits expand 26 percent to 447 million rupees.

The group said sales rose to 4,137 metric tonnes in the September quarter from 3,837 a year earlier.

Sri Lanka has upped tariff protection for the tyre industry.
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The Renuka City Hotels PLC has substantially improved performance in the first half of the current financial year ended September 30, 2013, with the half year profit after-tax up 83.27% to Rs.281.2 million from Rs.153.4 million a year earlier, according to an interim financial statement posted by the company.

In addition to the profitable Renuka City Hotel in Kollupitiya, the company owns a substantial share portfolio from which it derives other operating income up during the half year under review by 18.8% to Rs.132.2 million.

The company had earned Rs.55 million dividend income but no profit from sale of shares as during the first half of the previous year.

The gross profit (from hotel operations) was up 19.4% to Rs.113.8 million. Salaries and related expenses were up 90.9% to Rs.37.6 million during the half year under review while administrative expenses also grew 32.2% to Rs.14.9 million. However marketing expenses were down 7.9% to Rs.1.5 million.

Renuka City’s earnings per share during the half year were up to Rs.25.69 from Rs.22.18 during the comparative period the previous year.

The company had as at Sept. 30, 2013, a stated capital of Rs.110 million, general reserves of nearly Rs.2 billion and retained earnings of Rs.414.7 million together with an "available for sale reserve" representing its share portfolio of Rs.892.2 million.

Renuka City’s total assets stood at Rs.3.45 billion and its total liabilities at Rs.76.9 million.

The company’s share traded at a high of Rs.290 and a low of Rs.237 during the second quarter and was last traded at Rs.240. This compared with a trading range of Rs.275 to Rs.197 closing at Rs.260 a year earlier.

Renuka Hotels Limited with 62.29 and an associate company, Cargo Boat Development PLC with 6.51%, are the two major shareholders followed by J.B. Cocoshell (5.42%) and Associated Electrical Corporation (2.96%).

The directors of the company are: Mr. R.B. Thambiayah (Chairman), Mrs. N.A. Thambiayah (Deputy Chairman), Ms. S.R. Thambiayah (Jt. MD), Ms. A.L. Thambiayah (Jt. MD), F.H. Puvimanasinghe Mrs. M.A. Jayawardena, Mr. R.S. Tissanayagam, Mr. C.S. Wijeyeratne and Ms. N.R. Thambiayah.
http://island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=92182