Plantation shares collapse post company results

As predicted by the Business Times in a October 8 report, plantation sector shares saw a bloodbath on Thursday at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) when traders sold these shares after many plantation firms posted less than average results, brokers said.

There was a mixed bag of plantation sector results for quarter ended September 2017 with Madulsima Plantations and Udupussellawa Plantations in the red. Balangoda Plantations and Hapugastenna Plantations profits were down sharply quarter on quarter. However Elpitiya Plantations and Watawala Plantations posted good results. 
With the high tea prices recorded over the past few months, retail traders were buying plantation shares cottoning onto the bit of good news on the plantations sector as their June quarter results were good. They extrapolated tea prices and gauged the values of these stocks, only to realise their miscalculations later. 
A share of Lankem Developments from June 30 to September 28 rose by 230 per cent (from Rs. 3 to Rs. 9.90). A share in Madulsima Plantations which was Rs. 6.70 went up to Rs. 15.50 recording a 131.34 per cent rise during this same period. Similarly other shares also raised by unprecedented stretches. (Duruthu)