Commercial Credit growth continues as profits reach Rs. 1 bln
View(s):Commercial Credit and Finance PLC has announced a 48 per cent surge in net profit to Rs. 1 billion for the year ending 31 March 2014.
“The year under review will go down in the annals of the history of our company as the year during which we first recorded Rs.1 billion in profits. This is a significant achievement by itself, but particularly so, considering the challenging year faced by the sector,” said company CEO Roshan Egodage in a statement to the media.
He said the company’s total assets also expanded during the year under review, by 73.1 per cent to reach Rs. 31.6 billion while interest income rose by 74.5 per cent to Rs. 6.9 billion.
“This growth coming on the back of good performances over the last several years, and the fact that it was mainly led by growth in the lending portfolio, is indeed very creditworthy” he added.
Company Chairman Cecil Perera said the company had expanded its service network substantially to reach all districts of the country. “In the financial year 2013/14 the company extended its service network to 75 from 60 locations. Our deposit base grew by 73.7 per cent indicating the immense trust and confidence the public has in the Commercial Credit brand and what it stands for,” he added. Earlier this year, US-based Creation Investments Capital Management LLC, agreed to invest Rs. 1.68 billion in the company through a wholly owned subsidiary, Creation Investments Sri Lanka LLC, the largest investment by an international private equity fund into a publicly listed Sri Lankan licensed finance company, the statement said.
“We believe that the association the company established through this transaction would be beneficial to spur a high level of interest in the financial services sector of Sri Lanka among international investors looking for investments in developing markets in the region. We are confident that the company’s relationship with Creation Investments would result in a true win-win for both parties in the coming years,” the chairman said in the statement.