Lease Trend

Nov 23, 2011 (LBO) - People's Leasing Co., Sri Lanka's largest leasing company, said September 30, 2011 quarter net profit rose 65 percent to 790 million rupees helped by gains from vehicle sales and Islamic finance and lower provisioning.





Earnings per share rose 73 percent to 64 cents in the quarter from 37 cents a year ago, results filed with the stock exchange showed.

Total sales of the company, whose shares begin trading on the Main Board of the Colombo Stock Exchange Thursday, rose 53 percent to 3.75 billion rupees in the September 2011 quarter.

Interest income rose 56 percent to 3.

2 billion rupees while interest expenses rose 87.

5 percent to 1.69 billion rupees and net interest income grew 32.



5 percent to 1.55 billion rupees.

The accounts showed that in the September 30, 2011 quarter net trading income from sale of vehicles shot up 687 percent to 33.

5 million rupees.

People's Leasing Company chief executive D P Kumarage told LBO the firm imports cars and buses.

"We now import cars directly such as for permit holders."

In August 2010 People's Leasing Company had signed a deal to import 1,000 buses from India's Ashok Leyland to meet growing demand after the end of the island's 30-year ethnic war in 2009.