SLT Group 1H, 2015 profits up 17%

Sri Lanka Telecom, the national telecommunication service provider, released the company's group financial performance statement for the 1st half of 2015. The group comprises of the holding Company Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) and its eight subsidiaries including the mobile arm Mobitel (Pvt) Ltd. (Mobitel)

The group reported revenue of Rs. 33.5 bn during the 1st six months of the year 2015, with a 7% growth compared to the same period of the previous year. Both Fixed Telephony and Mobile Segments have contributed to the growth.

Mobitel has displayed an impressive performance in revenue and profits generation during the 1st half of 2015. The group operating costs have been managed at Rs. 22.6 bn during the period under review, with an escalation of 4% year on year, which is below the increasing rate of revenue.

The group reported Rs. 4.4 bn Profit Before Tax during the 1st half of 2015, which is 8% year on year growth after surpassing the negative impact arising from Rs. 363 mn foreign exchange loss incurred during the period under review against the Rs. 99 mn gain in the previous year and zero TDC refunds compared to Rs. 699 mn of the same year.

The group Profit for the Period surged by 17% to Rs. 3.5 bn. The group Annualized Earnings Per Share improved to Rs. 3.85 from Rs. 3.29 compared to the first half of 2014.

Group CEO, SLT, Dileepa Wijesundera said that the SLT Group had done well to maintain the growth momentum in the face of rising costs. He said, "The SLT Group is poised for further growth through customized Enterprise ICT solutions, Next Generations' Broadband internet solutions including; Ultrafast Fibre Optic connections and wireless 4G/LTE services with expanded coverage in to the green fields. Also this growth will be backed by feature-rich PEO TV facilities offered through the recently introduced modern IPTV platform."