Sri Lanka’s 52 main commercial State-Owned Enterprises(SOEs) overall profit in the first six months of this year dropped by about 19% year-on-year, with Ceylon Electricity Board(CEB) recording losses in the period, the Ministry of Finance said.

According to the mid-year fiscal report by the Finance Ministry, the main 52 SOEs reported mixed performance during the first six months of this year, recording a total profit of Rs. 227.8 billion compared to Rs. 280.7 billion in the same period of 2024. 

It said that the three largest state banks, namely, Bank of Ceylon (BoC), People’s Bank (PB), and National Savings Bank (NSB), together increased their profitability by Rs. 65.5 billion in the first six months.

The performance of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB), and Employees’ Trust Fund Board also improved, collectively adding around Rs. 16 billion in additional profits compared to the same period last year.

“However, the overall profitability of the SOE sector was significantly constrained by the CEB, which reported a loss of Rs. 13.2 billion in the first six months of 2025 in contrast to the profit of Rs. 119.2 billion recorded in the same period of 2024,” the Finance Ministry report said.

The report said that the revenue from the sale of electricity in CEB decreased significantly by 38.8% to Rs. 192.6 billion in the first six months of this year, despite the increase in demand for electricity by 4.3% to 7,814 GWh.

“This is mainly due to the reduction of average end-user tariffs, where the sales revenue per unit declined to Rs. 24.64 per kWh in the first six months of 2025, compared to Rs. 41.97 per kWh in the same period of 2024,” it added.

Further, the report said that the collection of levies and dividends from the SOEs decreased to Rs. 11.7 billion in the first six months of this year, with the reduction in profits.