Aitken Spence PLC released its second quarter financial
results to the Colombo Stock Exchange today, reporting Rs 744mn as
pre-tax profit and Rs 470mn as profit attributable to shareholders for
the quarter ended 30th September 2009; both increasing by 16% over the
previous year. The Sri Lanka-based diversified conglomerate’s figures
for the first six months revealed a pre-tax profit of Rs 1.23bn and
profit attributable to shareholders of Rs 764mn, reflecting marginal
declines of 1.2% and 3.6% respectively. Earnings per share increased 16%
from Rs 14.97 to Rs 17.37 for the quarter while it dropped by 3.6% to Rs.
28.22 for the six months,
During the quarter under review, the Sri Lankan leisure
sector, consisting of hotels and inbound tourism, showed signs of
recovery. Aitken Spence Hotels, which operates the country’s largest
resort portfolio showed improved earnings over the previous year. Aitken
Spence Travels, the largest inbound tourism operator in the country saw
tourist numbers increase during the period under review, resulting in
higher earnings.
In spite of earnings remaining negative, the Group’s
performance in the Maldives was above expectations. Aitken Spence is the
largest international resort operator in the Maldives, with a chain of
seven resorts. The islands are yet to fully recover from a slump in
tourist arrivals due to the aftermath of the global recession.
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