Aitken Spence aims high in global port management

Aitken Spence’s pioneering venture into the port efficiency management in Durban, South Africa, Africa’s busiest port, has paid rich dividends and the company is looking at similar opportunities in the continent and beyond.

Officials said the company has already succeeded in breaking into management of global properties with a fresh deal signed in Oman and already managing properties in India.

In its third quarter financial results released on Tuesday, the blue chip reported a Rs 1.9 billion post-tax profit with Rs 1.1 billion attributable to shareholders for the nine months ending 31st December 2007.

Group turnover grew significantly by 35.1 per cent to Rs 18.7 billion, up from Rs 13.8 billion last year.An official statement said the group resuscitated what used to be a shut-down garments factory with the opening of the Aitken Spence Apparels factory at the Koggala Export Processing Zone. During the period under review, Heritance Kandalama was yet again recognized for its environmental commitment by the popular US-based Travel & Leisure magazine and Conservation International as one of the top 15 green hotels in the world. The group’s leadership in tourism in the country was officially recognized at the inaugural Presidential Awards for Travel & Tourism winning five prestigious awards, which made it the most awarded Group. The group’s resorts in the Maldives have continued to contribute strongly to the company’s performance. Vadhoo Island Resort, the latest addition to its Maldivian portfolio commenced its operation during the period under review. Its first two Indian resorts, Poovar Island Resort in Kerala and Barefoot at Havelock in the Andaman Islands commenced operations during this financial year. Five more properties located in various parts of India are expected to commence operations in the near future.The company last week announced that it has signed an agreement to manage four hotel properties in Oman, becoming the first Sri Lankan company to enter the Middle East hospitality industry.

Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Aitken Spence, Rajan Brito said the fragile security climate in the country has exposed tremendous challenges to the economy, especially to the tourism sector. “We are confident that given improvements in security and macroeconomic stability would bring in greater investments into the economy.”