Aitken Spence shows strong comeback in Q1 through improved performance in June 2020

Aitken Spence PLC made a strong comeback in the month of June 2020 with the Group’s main sectors excluding tourism recording a growth in profits compared to June 2019, despite the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on overall economic activity.

It is noteworthy that three main sectors of the Group; maritime & freight logistics, strategic investments and services collectively recorded a profit of Rs. 513 million during the quarter with the performance of these sectors improving steadily month on month.

The tourism sector of the Group both in Sri Lanka and overseas was significantly impacted due to the global pandemic and lockdown in the country during April and May 2020, resulting in the first quarter ending June 30, 2020 recording a loss of Rs. 1.5 billion compared to Rs. 216.7 million profit attributable to the shareholders in the previous year.

Resilience was seen in the Group’s diversified business portfolio and strategic direction, particularly, in integrated logistics, plantations, elevator agency, insurance and money transfer services that was commendable amid unprecedented challenges.

The maritime & freight logistics sector performed remarkably under challenging conditions to deliver a profit-before-tax (PBT) of Rs. 459 million. Most companies within the maritime and freight logistics sector, operated continuously without a disruption during the quarter under review with increase in profits from the integrated logistics segment and airline cargo division of 58% and 71% respectively over the last year. Another outstanding sector performance was recorded by the elevator agency, insurance, money transfer segments in the services sector recording PBT of Rs. 96 million.

The strategic investments sector recorded a loss of Rs. 42.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020 due to foreign exchange translation losses arising from the strengthening of the rupee by nearly 2% during the quarter, although the plantations segment recorded an excellent performance with a growth in profit of more than 350% over the previous year and the power generation segment also making a noteworthy contribution to profits. (Aitken Spence)