SLT Group announced its financial results for the first half of the year 2019 with a remarkable growth of 42% YoY in operating Profit to reach Rs. 4.5 Bn.
The growth momentum was driven by better management of costs and increase of revenue by 7.9% YoY to Rs. 42.6 Bn with significant contributions from its key business portfolios of fixed and mobile broadband services, Global business, Career domestic, Enterprise intelligent business solutions, PEO TV services, National Backbone Services and Digital Services. The Group comprises of nine subsidiaries including its mobile arm Mobitel (Pvt) Ltd. The Gross Profit was recorded at Rs. 18.8 Bn with a YoY growth of 13%.
Despite the strong competition in the market and pressure on the country’s economy and public security during the first half of 2019, a strong EBITDA margin was recorded at 33.4% in comparison to 30.9% the year before. The EBITDA reported at Rs. 14.2 Bn. The Profit after Tax (PAT) rose to Rs. 3.5 Bn with a YoY growth of 23%. The Group was able to reduce FOREX losses to Rs. 15 Mn from Rs. 550 Mn in the first half of 2018 as a result of rupee stabilization, effective hedging strategies and reduction of foreign currency denominated loans which positively contributed to the PAT growth. The PAT margin grew to 8.2% for the period under review from 7.2% during the corresponding period in 2018. SLT Group paid a total of Rs.13.9 Bn of Direct & Indirect taxes and other contributions to the Government of Sri Lanka during the six months ended 30th June 2019.
Group Chairman Kumarasinghe Sirisena,said, “ Going ahead with its diversification strategy, the Group recently launched its innovative transport service under the brand name ‘SLT Muve’ to avail the opportunities in the external environment through its subsidiary, SLT Digital Services (Pvt) Ltd. I strongly believe 2019 and the years ahead will be very encouraging in with us pursuing opportunities for positive growth”.
The operating profit of the Holding Company almost doubled to Rs. 2.3 billion during the period under review. This was aided by a 6.8% YoY growth in revenues to Rs. 24.9 billion and the efficient management of operating costs at Rs. 22.6 billion with a minimum escalation of 0.24% YoY. The Company EBITDA improved by 25.8% YoY to Rs. 8.4 billion while the EBITDA margin rose to 33.8% from 28.7% compared with the corresponding period the year before. The PAT improved by 76% YoY to Rs. 1.8 billion.
Reduction of FOREX losses too largely contributed to the profit growth, while the increase of interest costs and reduction of Other Income impacted negatively. The PAT margin improved to 7.3% during the first six months of 2019.
“Mobitel successfully demonstrated 5G smartphone connectivity and speeds of over 1.5 Gbps for the first time in South Asia,” Chief Executive Officer, Mobitel Nalin Perera said.
Chief Executive Officer of the Holding Company, Kiththi Perera said, “With Vision 2022, SLT embarked on a five-year journey to tackle the challenges of this new era. ‘National Digital Roadmap’ marked a special milestone in the country’s digital journey towards a SMART Sri Lanka.”
Chief Operating Officer of SLT, Priyantha Fernandez said, “The ongoing strategic investments including the expansion of Next Generation Access Network will provide customers with an unparalleled digital experiences.”
Mobitel (Pvt) Ltd continued to grow its revenue and profitability compared to the same period the year before. Mobitel revenue for the first half of 2019 stood at Rs. 19.8 billion, up by 5% compared to the corresponding period in 2018.