Aitken Spence net profits rise by 23.5 percent to Rs. 977.6 m

Aitken Spence PLC, a diversified business conglomerate recorded a pre-tax profit of Rs. 5.5 b for the financial year 2011/12, according to company sources. The shareholders profit surged by 46.2 percent from last year. The company's earning per share grew 46.3 percent to Rs. 9.14 and it announced a dividend of Rs. 1.40 per share. The fourth quarter net profit of the Group attributable to shareholders rose by 92.8 percent to Rs. 1.76 b while profit after tax increased to Rs. 2.14 b, a 73.5 percent growth over the corresponding period in the previous year. Net revenue for the final quarter increased by 39.1 percent to Rs. 9.65 b.

Aitken Spence Deputy Chairman and Managing Director, J.M.S. Brito said that the hallmark of the Group's success has been its ability to harness the right business opportunities, capacity and agility to reposition, realign and reinvent itself to capitalise on market realities, the business acumen and instincts of the team of professionals whose bold decisions paved the way for stable and solid results.

The tourism sector of the company was a major contributor this year achieving a profit of Rs. 2.6 b from operations, a 65.3 percent growth compared to the previous year, sources said.

Revenue from the tourism sector grew by 13 percent to Rs. 11.3 b. The tourism sector contributed around 50 percent of the Group's profit in the financial year 2011/12. The highest contributor to the tourism sector's growth was the Group's resorts in the Maldives. The Group's cargo logistics sector recorded its best performance to date achieving a profit of Rs. 846.8 m, a 40.7 percent growth over the previous year. The power, printing, plantations and garments sectors recorded a net revenue of Rs. 14 b, a 30.3 percent growth. The service sector recorded a net revenue of Rs. 1.7 b during the year 2011/12, recording a 13.3 percent growth over the previous year while the sector's net profit from operations rose by 23.5 percent to Rs. 977.6 m.

LF