”Business volumes of all segments of the group were positively impacted in the second quarter as a result of firm demand," the company, a subsidiary of Singapore’s Prima Group, said in a statement.
The quarterly performance sent group profit for the first half of 2007 to 192.3 million rupees compared with 14.2 million in the first half of 2006.
The company statement said its operating environment remained "challenging" during the second quarter.
"High cost of feed ingredients, crippling import duties, indirect taxes and increased utility charges have all played a part in putting pressure on margins," it said.
Feed-ingredient costs will continue to pose one of the biggest operating challenges for the poultry industry.
The company asked the government to lift a 20 percent cess levied on imported maize.
"Additionally it is crucial for the authority to lift the unrealistic price control for chicken at 260 rupees per kg and to allow the market forces to determine the selling price based on supply and demand."
Economic analysts point out that price controls are put by countries with weak economic management and high inflation caused by heavy money printing .
In the 12-months to August Sri Lanka's inflation was 17.3 percent.
In recent years, Argentina, a country famous for money printing, 700 percent inflation, foreign borrowings and currency collapses put price controls on beef. This forced ranchers to switch to soyabean production instead, eventually pushing beef prices still higher.
A few weeks ago Zimbabwe, one of the worst money printing countries in history with 7,500 percent annual inflation, put in price controls and started jailing producers and shopkeepers.
However the policy was abandoned after severe food shortages. Last week the Zimbabwe started experimenting with a wage freeze instead.
One of the earliest price control laws were passed in revolutionary France when unrestrained printing of a new paper currency called the assignat drove inflation to very high levels.
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