Aitken Spence achieves highest ever profit

Sri Lanka's leading diversified conglomerate Aitken Spence, reported its highest ever profits for the financial year 2006/07. The conglomerate posted a profit before tax of Rs. 2.6 billion for the financial year, a 35.1% increase over the previous year.

The exceptional growth, despite an adverse tourism climate in the country is credited to the visionary expansion of the Group's business portfolio.

This expansion of the Group's business activity and the global reach taken by the Group in the recent past contributed to the 45.4% increase in Group revenue to Rs. 19.8 billion for 2006/07, being the highest ever revenue recorded.

Net Profit attributable to equity holders of the company increased by 20.3% to Rs. 1.5 billion, the highest reported.

Earnings per share recorded a growth of 20.2% to Rs. 53.93 and the Group generated a positive economic value addition of Rs. 1.97 billion during the financial year. Deputy Chairman and Managing Director Rajan Brito said that whilst not diluting the interests in Sri Lanka, the Company looked to a strategy of cross border expansion within the spheres of hospitality management, port services and power generation overseas.

"I am pleased to note that in the current year our vision to explore global prospects became a reality.

A reality borne through fortitude and an attitude attuned to accomplishment. Innovation and transformational changes in attitude have been the hallmarks that characterised this change in the organisation's future outlook," said Brito in his review in the Annual Report.