JKH shareholders to call special meeting to approve mega project
View(s):John Keells Holdings (JKH) said on Friday that it would call an extra-ordinary general meeting of shareholders to seek approval for a new mixed development project.
The group said that recently a subsidiary Waterfront Properties (Pvt) Ltd, entered into an agreement with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka for a US$650 million waterfront integrated resort project located at Glennie Street/Justice Akbar Mawatha which consists of multiple businesses including a luxury hotel, convention centre, entertainment and gaming facilities, international standard shopping mall, luxury condominiums, serviced apartments and office space.
Group chairman Susantha Ratnayake made these comments in releasing the first quarter to June 2013 results in which the profit before tax (PBT) eased by 8 per cent to Rs.2.20 billion over Rs.2.40 billion recorded in the corresponding period in the previous financial year.
Revenue for the same quarter was Rs.20.01 billion which was in line with the revenue recorded during the same period last year.
“The results of the first quarter of the financial year are a reflection of current macroeconomic challenges emanating from the decisive actions taken by the Government, including the implementation of cost based electricity pricing, over the past year to stabilise an over-heated economy and reduce the budget deficit. Whilst these macroeconomic factors may have a negative impact on the performance of the group in the short term, we believe that your group is well positioned to capitalise on the emerging growth opportunities because of its strong fundamentals and we, therefore, remain optimistic of the future,” he said.
Mr. Ratnayake said that whilst overall tourism arrivals to the country continue to demonstrate growth, they have not translated into room nights in the star category hotels. “This, we believe, is the result of a combination of the economic issues in Europe and the lack of a focused destination marketing and branding strategy. However, occupancy continued to be strong in the city hotels where we increased our market share, while the Maldivian resorts sector performed well benefitting from higher average room rates and increased occupancies,” he added.
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