Nov 03, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence net profit rose 29 percent to 606 million rupees in the September 2010 quarter from a year ago largely on better earnings from its hotels, a stock exchange filing said. Group sales rose 11 percent to 6.3 billion rupees while earnings per share after subdivision were 1.
49 rupees compared with 1.16 rupees the year before.
Our hotels sector performed significantly better during the period under review, driven primarily by our properties in Sri Lanka,” Deputy Chairman and Managing Director Rajan Brito said in a statement on the group’s six-month performance.
“We were also able to improve the profits from our chain of resorts in the Maldives.
The Aitken Spence conglomerate is one of the top hotel operators in Sri Lanka and the Maldives and has expanded into India and the Middle East.
“In addition to our active involvement in the expansion of the Port of Colombo, we are moving ahead with major investments in tourism and several other sectors of the country,” Brito said.
“With an enabling environment for the private sector to invest, Sri Lanka can expect sustained levels of high growth.
The island’s 30-year ethnic war ended in May 2009