COLOMBO – Hayleys PLC, the Sri Lankan conglomerate majority-controlled by billionaire businessman Dhammika Perera, has opened its new financial year with sharply higher earnings, as strong performances across logistics, consumer, industrial and export-oriented businesses lifted revenue and operating profit.
Revenue for the three months ended June 30 jumped 38% to Rs 179.3 billion, from Rs 130.4 billion a year earlier, while operating profit rose at an even faster 53% to Rs 14.02 billion, underlining the scale of the acceleration across one of Sri Lanka’s largest and most diversified corporate groups.
Profit before tax climbed 61% to Rs 10.15 billion, while Group profit for the period increased 86% to Rs 5.92 billion.
Perhaps the most striking increase came at shareholder level, with profit attributable to owners of Hayleys rising 137% to Rs 3.57 billion, compared with Rs 1.51 billion in the corresponding quarter. Earnings per share increased to Rs 4.56 from Rs 2.01.
The ownership and management structure behind that performance is noteworthy.
Dhammika Perera controls 51.01% of Hayleys, making him its majority shareholder, and serves as Co-Chairman and Non-Executive Director. Executive leadership remains in the hands of Chairman and Chief Executive Mohan Pandithage, a career Hayleys man.
His long association provides an unusual degree of institutional continuity alongside Perera’s controlling ownership – combining the entrepreneurial instincts of one of Sri Lanka’s best-known investors with the stewardship of an executive whose career has been built almost entirely within Hayleys.
The results represent a powerful start to FY2026/27 and extend the momentum of a Group that crossed the half-trillion-rupee annual revenue threshold for the first time in the year ended March 2026.
More importantly for investors, the latest quarter demonstrates considerable breadth in the earnings base. Transportation and Logistics was among the standout performers, with segment earnings more than doubling to Rs 3.24 billion from Rs 1.46 billion. External revenue from the division surged to Rs 42.88 billion from Rs 23.35 billion.
Consumer and Retail remained the Group’s largest contributor to segment earnings, producing Rs 4.83 billion, up from Rs 3.02 billion.
Purification Products almost doubled segment earnings to Rs 1.75 billion from Rs 957 million, while Hand Protection increased its contribution to Rs 1.25 billion.
Industry Inputs produced another significant increase, with segment results rising from Rs 224 million to Rs 1.38 billion.
The numbers suggest that Hayleys’ expansion is being generated across several parts of its portfolio rather than depending upon a single business, commodity or economic cycle – an important consideration for international investors seeking exposure to Sri Lanka’s economic recovery.
