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Friday, August 26, 2011

Softlogic Capital Holdings to be listed

By Indika Sakalasooriya

The subsidiary which is going to be the financial services holding company for Softlogic Holdings’ finance and insurance companies will be listed in the Colombo bourse within two months time, a top official said.

“We are planning to bring Softlogic Capital to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) by way of a share Introduction. We have already applied to the CSE in this regard” Chairman and Managing Director of Softlogic Holdings PLC (SHL) told Mirror Business.

Softlogic Holdings has Softlogic Capital Ltd, which was acquired and re-branded last financial year, Softlogic Finance PLC and recently acquired Asian Alliance Insurance PLC to its credit.

According to Pathirage, Asian Alliance Insurance PLC and Softlogic Finance PLC, which are already flagship subsidiaries of Softlogic Capital, will be held under Softlogic Capital Ltd that has been identified as the financial services holding company and is due to be listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange shortly.

Commenting on the new developments taking place in the retail operations of the company, Pathirage said that they are looking for a large retail space for the Debenhams Department Store, which is going to be the first international department store in Sri Lanka.

“Branded Apparel remains a key growth strategy for the group, currently with 3 Levi’s outlets and one Nike store. We are committed to enhancing our portfolio of international retail brands, and in line with that commitment we will be opening Giordano and Mango stores in Colombo in the second quarter,” he noted.

He further noted that the SHL is going forward with the target of setting up 150 retail outlets by December this year and increase the number to 250 by the end of 2012. The company currently has 85 stores.

Commenting on firm’s hotel operations, Pathirage said they have plans to commence construction of the Movenpick City Hotel in Colombo in collaboration with the Movenpick Group in September 2011 and the project is expected complete it in 24 months.

SHL also recently entered into an agreement with Thailand’s Centara International Management to mange its Ceysands hotel, which is situated in Bentota.

“Refurbishment and reconstruction of Ceysands will to commence in September 2011 which will transform it from a 84 room hotel to a 160 room 4 star plus resort which will reopen in time for the 2012 winter season,” Pathirage said.

In another development, the healthcare arm of SHL, Asiri Group also plans to set up a pathology laboratory in Jaffna to serve the area with high-tech healthcare diagnostics expertise.

“The group also acquired a project to construct a 100-bed hospital in Kandy, construction of this is anticipated to commence in the near future” Pathirage noted.

Net profit up 169% to Rs.275mn

Softlogic Holdings PLC has recorded a net profit of Rs.275 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. This shows a169 percent increase in profits compared with the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The consolidated revenue of the group also rose 162 percent to Rs.4.4 billion during the period under consideration.According to Softlogic Chairman Ashok Pathirage this was partly due to the consolidation of Asiri Group results which contributed Rs 1.3 billion to the turnover. He also said that the growth in profits does not reflect the interest savings from consolidation of the Group’s borrowing position consequent to the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of shares of Softlogic Group, as the funds were received towards the end of the quarter.“The benefits of the interest savings will be reflected in the future periods” Pathirage noted.However, according to the consolidated balance sheet, SHL has over Rs.6 billion short-term borrowings and over Rs.5 billion interest bearing borrowings.As per the segmental analysis provided with the accounts, the Information Technology sector of SHL has recorded Rs.1.5 billion revenue during the period under consideration.

The revenue contribution from the retail sector was over Rs.900 million, while the financial and automobile sectors recorded Rs.299 million and Rs.264 million respectively. The leisure sector recorded revenue of Rs.18 million.

Being the second biggest Initial Public Offering (IPO) after Dialog Telekom, SHL recently raised Rs.4 billion issuing 139 million ordinary shares, each at Rs.29.

source - www.dailymirror.lk