Corporate

Hayleys MGT spearhead in fabric manufacturing

Hayleys MGT Knitting Mills, the Hayleys Group’s cotton and synthetic fabric manufacturing business has reported a net profit of US$ 601,899 for the first quarter of 2009-10, on a turnover of US $ 11.8 million. Results released to the Colombo Stock Exchange this week show that the company recorded declines in both turnover and profit in the three months ending June 30, 2008, despite achieving a 23 per cent reduction in its cost of sales in the period reviewed.

Hayleys MGT Jt. Managing Director Bandula Weerasinghe said the drops of 21 per cent and 15 per cent respectively in turnover and profit after tax were mainly attributable to price reductions and higher finance costs. However, the outlook for the rest of the year is considerably better, he said. The commissioning of a new bio mass steam generator in the second quarter of the year, and the installation of a state-of-the-art rotary and digital printing facility would help offset high energy costs and add value to the company’s product range, Mr. Weerasinghe disclosed. Hayleys MGT can now offer comprehensive fabric printing solutions for both 100 percent cotton and synthetic fabrics.

A major supplier to top international brands such as Marks & Spencer, Next, Nike, Reebok and Decathlon, Hayleys MGT is the first fabric manufacturer in Sri Lanka to be certified as compliant with the world’s most stringent Social Accountability Standard, SA8000. The standard represents a comprehensive and flexible system for the management of ethical workplace conditions throughout global supply chains. Hayleys MGT has a production capacity of 4 million metres of fabric per month at its state-of-the art plant at Narthupana Estate in the Kalutara District.

Malwatte Valley Plantations record Rs. 338m profit

Malwatte Valley Plantations PLC, till the end of the 3rd quarter of the year ended December 31, 2008 towards an all time record was unfortunately stymied by the impact of the global recession and the resultant slide in Tea and Rubber prices during the final quarter.

The profit of Rs. 542 million earned by the company to end September 2008 eroded to a profit of Rs. 338 million at years end, which even then, is amongst the highest profits earned by an RPC in the country, said the chairman W.L. Bogtstra.

Segmental profit of Tea and Rubber is Rs. 239 million and Rs. 186 million.

There was a marginal variance in crop, when compared to that of 2007.

Tea Prices remained buoyant until September and the Company was heading for a record year in terms of Profit as at that date.

However, as mentioned above, the Global Economic downturn, took its toll on commodities and tea prices plummeted during the final quarter. The strong Rupee against currencies that had devalued in Major Tea Buying Countries did into help either and large parcels of tea remained unsold in the Colombo Auctions.

The Tea Board stepped in and purchased large volumes of tea at these Auctions to try and mitigate the impact of this crisis.

A severe drought also affected the crop aggravating the drop in profitability.

Not withstanding this, the overall profit of the Company remained strong at Rs. 338.3 million with NSA and COP ending at Rs. 284 and Rs. 244 respectively, said the chairman.

eight of the 11 operational factories have been upgraded to ISO 22000 standards. All tea factories are fully equipped and geared to manufacture both Low Grown and High Grown types improving our capability of capitalizing on variable market demands.

This coupled with the continued improvement in harvest technology, further improved in overall prices.

The Company won prestigious awards during the year when St. James estate was ranked No. 1 at the ‘World Tea Expo’ in an international competition held in Las Vegas, USA. At the same competition, Sarala Estate was judged the Runner Up.

The Company achieved 230 Top Prices in the year under review, which included an All Time Record for Uva medium BOP achieved by Bombagalla Uva estate.

IBSL gets new Chairman and Vice Chairman

Dr. Uthum Herat	P.D.J. Fernando

The Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has appointed Dr. Uthum Herat as the Chairman and P.D.J. Fernando as the Vice Chairman of the institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka (IBSL) with effect from July 7, 2009 consequent to the retirement of former Chairman W.A. Wijewardena and Vice Chairperson Ms. M.A.R.C. Cooray. Dr. Herat is currently a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and overlooks the Financial System Stability Cluster. Prior to being appointed Deputy Governor, he was the Assistant Governor in charge of financial system stability.

He has served as Alternate Executive Director for the Constituency of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka at the IMF. He is an economist by training, and a career central banker. He has held a number of posts in the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, including that of Director, Economic Research. Dr. Herat obtained his basic degree in Mathematics and Statistics from Sri Jayawardenapura University, Sri Lanka and MS and Ph.D in Economics from Purdue University, USA. In addition, he is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants UK. P.D.J. Fernando who is an Assistant Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, has obtained his BSc (Hons) degree from the University of Peradeniya and M.Sc (Statistics) from the University of Birmingham, UK.