Hayleys’ significance, however, extends well beyond its own balance sheet.
For Sri Lanka – which continues rebuilding the external buffers depleted during its foreign-exchange and sovereign debt crisis – Hayleys is also a substantial generator of hard currency.
The Group says it generated approximately US$800 million in foreign-currency inflows during FY2025/26 and accounted for around 5% of Sri Lanka’s export income.
That places Hayleys in a different category from a conglomerate dependent primarily on recovering domestic consumption. Its substantial export-oriented businesses provide the Group with international revenue streams while simultaneously contributing foreign currency to the Sri Lankan economy.
The US$800 million figure is particularly significant when viewed against Hayleys’ own recent history. In FY2024/25, the Group reported US$685 million in foreign-exchange income, meaning the reported contribution increased by approximately US$115 million in the following year.
For an international investor, this provides another dimension to the Hayleys proposition.
Consumer and Retail gives the Group substantial exposure to recovering Sri Lankan domestic demand, while businesses including Hand Protection, Purification Products, Textiles, Eco Solutions and Tea Exports connect Hayleys directly to overseas markets.
Hayleys therefore represents something more complex than a conventional Sri Lankan recovery play: it combines exposure to domestic consumption and investment with businesses capable of earning the foreign currency the wider economy continues to need.
That distinction could become increasingly valuable as Sri Lanka rebuilds its external financial resilience.
There were, inevitably, weaker areas during the quarter.
Textiles reported lower earnings, while Plantations and Tea Exports softened and Leisure recorded a small loss. But the breadth of the Group allowed stronger divisions comfortably to absorb those weaker performances.
Hayleys has meanwhile continued reshaping its portfolio.
The Group completed the transfer of the operating assets and head lease of its Maldives hotel operation during June. The business, classified as a discontinued operation, recorded a Rs 403 million loss during the quarter.
At the same time, subsidiary Hayleys Advantis acquired controlling interests in three Sri Lankan shipping and logistics businesses – Lanka Shipping & Logistics, Oceanserve Lanka and Aiyer Lanka Shipping – further strengthening a division already emerging as one of the Group’s fastest-growing contributors.
The combination points towards deliberate capital allocation: reducing exposure to an underperforming hospitality operation while increasing investment in logistics, where both earnings and revenues are expanding strongly.
