Sri Lankan conglomerate Aitken Spence PLC recorded a strong EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) of Rs. 4.1 billion for the first quarter ended 30 June.
This reflects a 7% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase, underscoring the group’s strong operational performance despite challenging external conditions.
The group’s maritime and freight logistics sector led a strong performance, recording a profit-before-tax (PBT) of Rs. 1.05 billion.
While the group’s freight companies were impacted by reduced volumes and margins, the sector’s integrated logistics operations witnessed strong momentum, supported by increased utilisation of the newly commissioned warehouse facility.
The group’s maritime companies also posted steady improvements, contributing to the sector’s overall resilience and growth.
The group’s tourism sector demonstrated continued progress, narrowing losses to Rs. 0.22 billion.
This growth was supported by stronger performance in the group’s destination management segment, driven by increased passenger volumes, improved performance in local hotels, and steady gains from increased occupancy across overseas hotel operations in the Maldives, India, and Oman, together with restructuring of the hotel segment debt.
The group’s strategic investments sector continued to demonstrate its long-term value creation potential, with Western Power Company - Sri Lanka’s pioneering waste-to-energy power plant - delivering higher generation and making a notable positive contribution to the sector’s performance.
While the sector reported a slight dip in PBT to Rs. 0.10 billion mainly due to the challenges faced in the garment’s business, this was offset in part by the strong operational performance of Western Power, reinforcing the group’s commitment to sustainable and innovative energy solutions.
Additionally, the group’s printing and plantations segments contributed positively to the sector’s overall results.
The group’s services sector achieved a PBT of Rs. 0.27 billion, reflecting a notable turnaround.
This was primarily driven by increased revenue from elevator repair services and the operational efficiencies gained following the timely completion of commercial projects in the previous year, which helped streamline costs and enhance margins.
Moreover, the recently commenced Port City BPO operation made a substantial contribution as well.
The group also recorded a significant improvement in PBT for the quarter, which rose by 74% to Rs. 1 billion. PAT increased sharply by 339.6% to Rs. 405.37 million.