Business

Sri Lanka listed companies hit by Coronavirus, some firms resume work

Thursday May 7, 2020 11:43 am

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s publicly traded companies have said Coronavirus and curfews had badly hit their cashflows and revenues but some export and telecom firms are seeing demand and construction activity has also resumed.

Tourism is one of the most badly hit, as are apparels.

Glove maker Haycarb said it is seeing strong demand. Some apparel firm including listed fabric maker Teejay Lanka is switching to Coronavirus protection items like masks.

John Keells Holdings a diversified group said the impact was uncertain and was evolving. Many firms have cut salaries.

Banking and telecommunication have seen a growth in usage. Sri Lanka Telecom said it has seen strong demand but regulatory order not to disconnect customers was making it difficult to collect revenue.

Sri Lanka imposed a state of ‘work-at-home’ in mid-March to combat Coronavirus and later imposed imposed stricter island-wide curfews, though many essential services were allowed to operate and export firms were also given the go ahead to work.

Tokyo Cement said construction projects resumed work but many distributors are closed in curfew.

In order to keep the businesses afloat are seen to be focusing on managing its liquidity and short-term costs reduction measures.

Here is a list of companies which publicly disclosed the COVID-19 impact:

1. Haycarb PLC – The demand for coconut shell based activated carbon was not adversely affected thus far, while new marketing opportunities have opened for certain activated carbon products such as face masks. However, sales volumes decreased due to the closure and partial operations caused by lockdowns and curfews. The construction, commissioning and handover of water and waste water treatment solutions in Sri Lanka and Maldives slowed down, and milestones were postponed during the period.

The Company expects escalation of operating costs through increases in raw material costs due to currently ongoing lockdowns, increase in cost of logistics and expenditure related to special hygienic and safety processes and systems implemented to protect employees and other stakeholders. The demand for activated carbon and activated carbon products is expected to remain strong in some of our key applications like water purification, air purification and gold extraction. These expectations are strictly conditional and subject to prevailing conditions globally at the time of this disclosure, said the company.

2. Teejay Lanka PLC said that in response to the decision taken by the Government of Sri Lanka to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, it took immediate measures to close down its plants in Sri Lanka by the 17th of March 2020 and the plant in India on the 20th March 2020. Due to the closure of the plants there was no production during the subsequent 3 weeks.

The company’s main issue post lockdowns were due to its customers requesting for extensions of credit periods and also proposed cancellation of some of the orders. However, it is looking in to developing fabric to produce PPEs

3. “The impact on the financial year 2020/21 cannot be ascertained at this point of time given the uncertain and evolving situation,” John Keells Holdings PLC, Sri Lanka’s largest conglomerate spread across various businesses said.

John Keells said that it monitors weekly cash targets and spend control initiatives including a freeze on all non-essential capital expenditure and stringent expense control measures.

JKH measures also includes a reduction in executive staff remuneration ranging from 5 to 60 percent till June 2020, subject to further review depending on the macro and operating environment.

4. Lion Brewery PLC said it suspended its operations in line with the curfew imposed and whilst the curfew has been lifted in most parts of the country, the curfew in Gampaha where the company’s offices and brewery are located, still remains therefore it is waiting for the curfew to be lifted to commence operations.

Likewise, the company expects a drop in demand across all FMCG’s including beer due to consumer demand hence anticipates the impact to reflect in the on-going financial year.

5. Tokyo Cement Company PLC, said since the company has been included in the list of essential services to operate, as a result we have been able to maintain production operations at our factory, save a few days in March.

However, the lockdown and curfews, in addition to the closure of most construction sites, hve restricted the distribution and retail of cement and dry mortar goods across the island.

The company said te demand for construction materials fell from the fourth week of March to April end. However, April is the lowest performing month due to the Sinhala-Tamil new year.

They also added that over the pat few weeks, construction activity has resumed, especially outside the Western Province, increasing cement and dry-mortar consumption.

6. Commercial Development Company PLC, which provides services to Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC said the direct impact on the business operations is at a minimal level.

7. Seylan Development PLC said the impact on its business has been minimal since the company’s main source of income is from leasing of office space at the Seylan Towers. With 80 percent of the income generated from leasing its office space to its parent company Seylan Bank PLC.

8. “In the short run, the company is experiences positive impacts in area such as Broadband, online services and IPTV related services due to the increased utilization from residential sector,” Sri Lanka Telecom said.

“At the same time, there are opportunities for future as many understands and increased enthusiasm to online and distance services which are enriched by connectivity services.”

However, Telecom said with regulatory instructions to refrain from disconnecting unpaid subscribers, the collection of billed revenue was a challenge.

9. Softlogic Life Insurance PLC said, since the first COVID 19 case in January 2020, the company has activated its BCP in stages by securing and sanitizing work locations, splitting teams to work from from home and enabling IT connectivity towards digital modes to enable continuous work from home so as not to interrupt any services to our customers.

10. Tea Smallholder Factories PLC – The factories are functioning as normal since the outbreak of COVID 19, maintaining social distancing and taking required precautions as advised by the health officials. The harvesting of Green Leaf by the smallholders is continuing and arrangements are in place for the collection and receipt of same by the factories. Tea auctions were conducted via an electronic platform in April 2020 and is expected to continue.

Tea prices have improved during this period due to the exporters purchasing actively to cover the orders. The Tea prices could be impacted in the future with the prevailing COVID 19 pandemic in Europe , Russia, Iran and other consumer countries, declining oil prices and devalued currencies.

11. Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC – said it began preparations for an outbreak of COVID-19 in January as part of its Emergency Response Planning process. “ To date there have been zero reported cases of COVID-19 within our company employees and their immediate families. Our head office, blending plants and warehouse facilities have been virus free as of this writing. Since March 16th, all non-essential staff commenced their daily work from their homes while essential staff to support blending and distribution of lubricant oils are reporting yo our plant in Sapugaskanda to support operations.

“Blending and filling operations are lower than normal due to the curtailed economic activities domestically and in our export markets due to the prevailing curfew/lockdown conditions/ The company is prioritizing operations to support essential services in all of our markets. The company is producing lubricant oils for essential services such as power generation, agriculture, fisheries sector and government transportation services.”

12. Hayleys PLC – Comprising the Group’s interests in Hand Protection, Purification, Textiles and Eco Solutions this sub-group of sectors which are export-oriented businesses collectively contributes to 28% of the consolidated revenue. We anticipate a degree of resilience for certain products in the Purification and Hand Protection Sectors, given the increasing importance of health and safety considerations.

Similarly, the Textiles Sector on the other hand, has seen a shift in orders from fashion and sport centric to fabric suitable for the health sector which is presently in large demand. Manufacturing operations in Sri Lanka which were temporarily halted following the imposition of curfew in the 3rd week of March, have now recommenced, and are rapidly ramping up production with some manufacturing plants, now at 85% operating capacity, whilst production facilities in other regions such as Indonesia and Thailand are currently fully operational. Order books in the Hand Protection, Purification and the Textile sectors remain strong, and we will continue to fulfil customer requirements.

13. Commercial Credit PLC said that branches outside the Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara and Puttlam districts are operating normal hours since 20th April 2020.

The Company executed its Business Continuity Plan and has been operating from remote locations where required and has operated during non- curfew hours where possible. Additional measures to protect the health and safety of customer and staff, as well measures to reduce the spread of the virus were put in place.

“Circular No. 5 dated 27th March issued by Central Bank of Sri Lanka, to give effect to the Cabinet Decision required the Company to provide a debt moratorium to eligible customers. The extent of the moratorium varies, and customers are eligible to apply until 15th May 2020. The significant proportion of our customer base, such as the three-wheeler, motorbike lessees, are entitled to apply for the moratorium and the situation is being monitored closely.”

14. BPPL Holdings PLC said that Kalutara District where all its plants are located, is a high risk district zone. So, despite the Government permitting operations of export companies to recommence, the scale of operations has been limited to around 30-40% of full capacity.

“So far, customer orders for our brush and brush filament operations remain strong with just a handful of customers requesting a short delay in shipments. Most customers have been requesting their goods to be shipped out as early as possible which is encouraging.

Our polyester yarn production, however, is negatively impacted by this pandemic as most sportswear brands we serve have had to close down their retail stores in the West. We are still uncertain as to when this situation is likely to improve.”

However, the company says it has adequate funding and unutilized banking facilities to see it through this hibernation period.

15. Expolanka PLC – Given the global reach of our operation the impact of the virus was felt from the onset of the Pandemic in January 2020, however the significant impact to the performance of the business was felt from March 2020.

“Given the nature of our operations and business model, the impact on the core logistic sector is a direct reflection on the impact to our customers. With significantly reduced volumes from our customers coupled with the dynamic environment in securing air and ocean capacity, continued disruption to global supply chains, along with extended credit terms to meet customer requirements, the first half of the financial year 20/21 is likely to remain very challenging.”

16. Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC said apart from enacting social distancing measure when conducting operations. Additionally, the Bank has deployed mobile banking units in many parts of the country during the lockdownperiod to take services to doorsteps of customers.

Additionally, the Governmentand Central Bank of SriLanka issued severalguidelines and directions in regards to conducting businessoperationand a relief schemeto support the COVID-19 hit borrowers which include moratoriums on loan facilities granted to businesses and individuals and subsidized working capital loans.
The Bank has taken steps to implement such guidelines and directives and is in the process of receiving applicationsfrom borrowers under the said relief scheme.

17. Ceylon Cold Stores PLC – Volumes across the consumer foods business of beverage and frozen confectionery markets has declined sharply due to the imposition of curfew and restrictions in movement. Manufacturing activities have commenced gradually with priority being the health and safety measures of staff and the manufacturing facilities.

The Group expects volumes to improve with the lifting of the curfew, while the outlook beyond that will depend on the impact on the overall economy and resultant impacts on consumer spend. Supermarket services are classified as an essential service by the Government. However, operations have been largely limited to delivery only, although outlets open when curfew restrictions are eased.

Revenue is negatively impacted in the immediate term as most of our outlets are located in high-risk districts and remain closed to the public although this is expected to change from the 4th of May 2020 given the current announcement by the Government. While outlets will be opened once restrictions are eased, we expect to continuously ramp up our capability in serving our customers through online delivery platforms. Outlets which are open to customers will adhere to the new safety guideline issued by government and health authorities.

18. “The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on our business is unprecedented,” said Jetwing Symphony, which owns a large hotel chain. “Almost all operational revenue streams are ceased and any indication of when we may resume operations are highly contingent on a number of local as well as international developments with regard to the battle against the pandemic,” the firm said.

“Currently, all hotels are operating with zero occupancy except Jetwing Colombo Seven having occupancy of 8% due to long stay guests and few guests have held up due to the travel bans.

“On an external front, we have requested banks for debt moratoriums and working capital loans
as per the Central Bank guidelines, which would give us comfort in managing future cashflows
of the business.

“Likewise, internally we have been in discussion with each of our hotels, where we have
reinforced our commitment to our employees and for that reason we have proposed a
voluntary reduction of basic salary and allowances. These measures have been implemented
on a staggered basis in proportion to total compensation, with the top level being encouraged
to forgo up to 50% of their compensation whilst the lowest level employees are shielded from
any such voluntary deductions. (Colombo/May08/2020)

Markets

Sri Lanka stocks close down 0.60-pct, dragged by HNB and LOLC

Friday November 13, 2026 3:28 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange closed down on Friday, CSE data showed, with the benchmark All Share Price Index moving down 0.60 percent.

The ASPI was down 133.22 points at 22,024.18, while the more liquid S&P SL20 was down 1.06 percent, or 67.55 points, at 6,298.02.

The ASPI ended the week up 784.53 points from last Friday.

Positive contributors to the ASPI were Dialog Axiata (up 0.40 percent at 50.20 rupees), Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka (up 0.52 percent at 58.30 rupees), Aitken Spence (up 3.60 percent at 151.00 rupees), Ceylon Tobacco Company (up 1.05 percent at 1,828.50 rupees), and LOLC Finance (up 1.96 percent at 5.20 rupees).

Hatton National Bank (down 1.88 percent at 403.75 rupees), Richard Pieris and Company (down 6.21 percent at 27.20 rupees), LOLC Holdings (down 2.17 percent at 405.00 rupees), Sampath Bank (down 1.91 percent at 154.00 rupees), and Singer (Sri Lanka) (down 2.40 percent at 77.30 rupees) were top negative contributors.

Market turnover was 3.23 billion rupees. Capital goods led turnover with 869.21 million rupees. (Colombo/Nov13/2026)

Economy

Sri Lanka MP slams budget speech for omitting Tamil national question

Friday November 13, 2026 2:56 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – A Sri Lanka legislator has voiced strong disappointment that the President’s budget speech failed to make a single mention of the Tamil national question.

“It is very unfortunate that in His Excellency the President’s speech, there has not been a single word mentioned about the Tamil national question. Not a single word,” Shanakiyan Rasamanickam said.

“A budget speech generally, is a policy direction of the government for the next year. The budget speech is not only a statement of the country’s fiscal position or the economy’s position. It is the country’s, the government’s, plan, or what the government plans to do the following year. That’s a policy statement.”

Former presidents would at least mention the Tamil question even if it was not resolved, he said.

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his speech, in his policy statement, he would mention: “The Tamil national question must be resolved,” Rasamanickam said.

Former Presidents Maithripala Sirisena and Gotabaya Rajapaksa also mentioned that the national ethnic question must be resolved, he added.

“Every President, every country’s Head of State, in their policy statements, have acknowledged the fact that there is an unresolved national issue, the Tamil national question, that it needs to be resolved. Various governments have proposed various mechanisms; none of them have succeeded, but at least it was mentioned.”

This year’s budget made allocations for the Office of Missing Persons, and the Office of Reparations.

“But the domestic mechanism is a mechanism that the victim community has rejected. So you all are allocating money to a mechanism where the victim community is not going to be part of.”

Last year’s budget 1 billion was allocated to be spent on the Trincomalee and Jaffna airports.

“Where was that 1 billion for the Trincomalee and Jaffna airports spent last year?”

“The trajectory of this government, Honourable Deputy Speaker, is worrying to me. It’s really worrying to me. Because if the objective is to say that there is no Tamil national question, if the objective is to say that you all have resolved any ethnic issue that this country faced, then Honourable Deputy Speaker, then I think the Tamil people will teach this government a very, very, very harsh lesson in the future.” (Colombo/Nov13/2026)

Bonds & Forex

Sri Lanka sells extra Rs6.5bn Treasury bills after auction

Friday November 13, 2026 12:32 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka has sold 6,500 million rupees of treasury bills offered on tap at an average rate of 9.95 percent, the public debt management office said, bringing the total of bills sold in the week to 85.562 billion rupees.

The issue offered 90 billion.

Total market subscription was 6.5 billion rupees.

The debt office sold a 12-month bill at 9.95 percent.

On Wednesday (11) the debt office raised 79 billion rupees of 3, 6 and 12 month bills after offering 90 billion.

The settlement date is November 13. (Colombo/Nov13/2026)

Construction and Real Estate

Access Engineering Sept quarter group net profit surges 200-pct to Rs4.75bn

Friday November 13, 2026 12:15 pm

ECONOMYNEXT — Sri Lanka’s Access Engineering PLC recorded a group net profit attributable to equity holders of Rs. 4.75 billion for the quarter ended September 30, surging 200 percent from Rs. 1.58 billion a year earlier, interim accounts showed.

Basic earnings per share rose to Rs. 4.08 for the September quarter, up from Rs. 1.58 previously.

Quarterly group revenue expanded 36 percent to Rs. 20.39 billion from Rs. 14.94 billion, underpinned by condominium property handovers — reflected in inventories dropping Rs. 7.69 billion since March to Rs. 35.71 billion — alongside strong automobile sales and steady civil engineering execution.

Cost of sales rose at a slower 27 percent to Rs. 14.34 billion, lifting gross profit by 64 percent to Rs. 6.05 billion and expanding gross margins to 29.7 percent from 24.7 percent.

Other income jumped 144 percent to Rs. 259.9 million, while administrative expenses rose 75 percent to Rs. 1.14 billion, leaving operating profit up 64 percent at Rs. 5.16 billion.

However, finance costs more than doubled, rising 107 percent to Rs. 1.18 billion on elevated group borrowings of Rs. 43.74 billion, partly offset by finance income climbing 302 percent to Rs. 42.2 million.

Share of results from equity-accounted investees rose 122 percent to Rs. 26.7 million, pushing pre-tax profit up 56 percent to Rs. 4.05 billion.

Income tax swung to a net reversal of Rs. 186.6 million from an expense of Rs. 804.1 million, boosted by deferred tax assets on unrelieved losses from a 100 percent enhanced capital allowance claimed by 60 percent-owned radiopharmaceutical subsidiary Access Medical Tracers (Private) Limited.

Total period profit rose 136 percent to Rs. 4.24 billion, with non-controlling interest declining 24 percent to Rs. 164.9 million following last year’s buyout of minority shareholders in Harbour Village (Private) Limited.

No separate exchange gain or loss was itemized in quarterly earnings, though foreign currency translation via associates recorded a Rs. 17.4 million loss in other comprehensive income, alongside USD 16.6 million in corporate guarantees.

Notes also flagged an expected Rs. 1.45 billion recovery from the terminated South Asia Commercial and Logistics Hub project, a Rs. 225 million post-quarter legal settlement already provided for, and a Supreme Court appeal over a 2011/12 PAYE tax ruling.

Group assets stood at Rs. 132.4 billion as of September 30, with net asset value per share at Rs. 46.70, as the Employees’ Provident Fund raised its stake to 5.69 percent.

Access Engineering shares closed at 80.00 rupees at the end of September and are currently trading around 85.80 rupees. (Colombo/Nov13/2026)

Economy

Sri Lanka private sector says timely implementation of Budget 2027 key

Friday November 13, 2026 11:43 am

ECONOMYNEXT – Private sector body, The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, said it was encouraged by the broad direction of Budget 2027, noting that it reinforces Sri Lanka’s commitment to economic transformation while maintaining policy continuity, macroeconomic stability, and fiscal discipline.

“This continuity is particularly important as the country seeks to transition from economic stabilisation to a more durable, investment-led growth trajectory.”

The chamber also noted several areas where the Budget could have placed greater emphasis to strengthen the country’s growth prospects.

“In particular, there is a need for a stronger focus on attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), accelerating factor market reforms, particularly in land and labour, and fast-tracking public procurement reforms to improve the efficiency and speed of project implementation.

“More targeted and actionable proposals could have been introduced to unlock the potential of sectors with significant growth opportunities, including tourism, agriculture, IT/BPO and logistics.”

The chamber said the budget contains positive measures aimed at enhancing competitiveness, and external sector resilience, while presenting opportunities for focus on sectors that can accelerate growth.

“A number of the key structural reforms identified in last year’s Budget have been carried forward and strengthened, providing greater certainty and predictability to businesses and investors.

“These include the continued implementation of the Trade National Single Window (TNSW), the phased removal of para-tariffs, the rollout of the Digital ID framework, efforts to expand market access through new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), the strengthening of one-stop-shop investment facilitation mechanisms, progress on Customs reforms, the expansion of Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), enhanced financing support for SMEs, and reforms relating to the management of State-Owned Enterprises.”

The CCC said that more than 20 proposals submitted by it have been reflected in Budget 2027.

These include measures to strengthen investor facilitation through the establishment of a professionally managed investment promotion agency; continued efforts to improve trade facilitation and export competitiveness; the Government’s consideration of a successor programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF); accelerated progress on key legislative reforms; the expansion of digital government services; and the promotion of cashless payments and broader digital adoption. The Budget has also captured several priorities relating to energy security, including the accelerated deployment of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and investments in fuel storage infrastructure, initiatives to optimize underutilized agricultural land, measures to support the expansion of the digital economy and the IT/BPO sector, and tax reforms to support exporters, including the acceptance of newly VAT-registered exporters as eligible exporters.

“The inclusion of these priorities reflects the value of sustained public-private dialogue and demonstrates increasing alignment between national policy objectives and the needs of a competitive, export-oriented economy.

“The priority now must be effective and timely implementation to translate policy commitments into investment, competitiveness, exports and sustainable growth.” (Colombo/Nov13/2026)