News & market updates

The Colombo Stock Exchange closed down for a second session as the ASPI fell 0.43% (103.17 pts) to 23,651.09 with turnover over Rs.3.54bn and foreign net selling of Rs.465.9mn. Top negatives included SFCL, CARG, CFIN and DOCK, while RAL and EMER were among gainers.

Colombo market opened in red as the ASPI fell 0.20% to 23,754.26 amid foreign net selling of Rs. 1.4 billion. Top negatives were JKH, SFCL, DOCK, TKYO and CARG, while LMF led food & beverage turnover and gained 9.08%.

CT Land Development PLC appointed Chulantha Wickramaratne, former Auditor General (2019–2025), as an Independent Non-Executive Director. Wickramaratne has also held independent directorships at CT Holdings PLC and Cargills (Ceylon) PLC.

Sri Lanka will host its largest-ever 510 sqm country pavilion at Gulfood 2026, with 61 exporters participating to showcase food and beverage products, including Cargills, Elpitiya Plantations, Ceylon Cold Stores and Renuka Agri Foods.

Sri Lanka will host a 510 sq m Country Pavilion at Gulfood 2026 with 61 exporting companies participating, including Cargills, Ceylon Cold Stores, Renuka Agri Foods and Elpitiya Plantations; the pavilion aims to boost exports of tea, spices, coconut and processed foods to MEASA markets.

The Colombo market hit an intraday record of 24,052.06 but closed flat, with the ASPI down 0.01% at 23,953.09 and the S&P SL20 up 0.20% at 6,663.12. Turnover was over Rs.5.4bn; York jumped 24.81% while SAMP, RICH, DFCC, CTHR and CARG were top negative contributors.

HUTCH’s Kahawanu Udanaya Season 3 rewarded retailers with top cash prizes of Rs.4 million, 40 gold coin redemptions and over Rs.15 million in Singer and Cargills vouchers, while 270m reward coins were reinvested into Season 4.

A 26-member Sri Lankan delegation, including Cargills (CARG.N0000), Hayleys (HAYL.N0000) and CIC (CIC.N0000), participated at FoodAG 2025 in Karachi (25–27 Nov 2025) to pursue sourcing, distribution and trade partnerships. Meetings covered livestock import regulation talks and efforts to strengthen trade under the Pakistan–Sri Lanka FTA.

Colombo market closed marginally up with the ASPI +0.15% to 21,959.05, as John Keells Holdings crossings accounted for about 34% of turnover (total turnover > Rs.4.1bn); foreign investors were net sellers of Rs.331.3m.

CSE ended mixed with the ASPI up 0.13% to 21,927.00 and the S&P SL20 down 0.05% to 6,011.31, on turnover of about Rs.2.56bn and foreign net selling of ~Rs.68.6m. Top positive contributors included DOCK, RICH, SAMP, JKH and CARG, while SFCL, SUN, RCL, LOLC and HHL were among decliners.

Colombo market lost Rs. 80 billion as the ASPI fell 1.13% to 21,898.20, led by extended selling in Colombo Dockyard and negative contributions from DOCK, HNB, RICH, CARG and JKH. Turnover was over Rs. 2.9 billion on nearly 81.9 million shares, with capital goods accounting for 33% of turnover.

Cargills Group donated Rs. 100 million to the Rebuilding Sri Lanka National Fund. It also provided essential food supplies and dry rations worth over Rs. 45 million to more than 20,000 families and is supporting farmers, distributors and small local businesses in recovery.

Colombo Dockyard's continued sell-off pushed the CSE ASPI down 1.13% (68.27 points) to 21,898.20, with Dockyard closing at Rs107, down Rs35.50. HNB, Cargills and John Keells also fell; market turnover was Rs2.7bn and Dockyard received Rs27.1m of net foreign inflow.

Cargills Bank launched the ‘Tapit’ contactless sticker card and is offering festive discounts with 100+ merchants plus year‑round savings including discounts at Cargills Food City.

Zakir Hussein Mohamedally was appointed to the boards of Cargills (Ceylon) PLC (as a Non-Independent, Non-Executive Director) and C T Holdings PLC. He has over two decades' experience in audit, assurance and capital markets and is Group COO & Head of Investment Banking at CT Smith Holdings and MD of Odeon Holdings.

The Ministry launched the Industry Recovery Foster Program (IRFP) and Industry Development Foster Program (IDFP) to revive large-scale manufacturing hit by Cyclone Ditwah, with corporates including John Keells (JKH.N0000), Hemas (HHL.N0000), Brown & Company (BRWN.N0000) and Cargills (CARG.N0000) joining a PPP. The recovery framework will be operational within 30 days and 16,476 inquiries have been recorded to date.

Cargills Bank PLC proposed a Rs. 2.5 billion rights issue of 294,200,000 new ordinary voting shares at Rs. 8.50 each (14 new for every 45 held) to boost capital and support lending, subject to CSE, SEC and shareholder approvals. Major shareholders Cargills (Ceylon) PLC and C T Holdings PLC hold 37.09% and 23.62% respectively.

Cargills (CARG.N0000) dispatched 10,000 dry-ration packs to flood-affected communities under its Heart for the Nation program. The company will soon open the initiative to customers to contribute, using its island-wide store network and logistics to distribute supplies.

Dividend · Rs 5.75 · XD Nov 17, 2025

First Interim dividend of LKR 5.75/share; XD 2025-11-17; record 2025-11-17; payable 2025-12-05; FY ending 31 March 2026

CSE ASPI closed up 0.11% at 22,953.49 while the S&P SL20 dipped 0.05% to 6,249.28. Top contributors were Senkadagala Finance (up 25%), Sunshine Holdings, Colombo Dockyard, Cargills and Aitken Spence, with market turnover down to 4.4 billion rupees.

KALBE Sri Lanka will offer free diabetes screenings at 42 Cargills Food City outlets in the Western Province from Nov 14–30, 2025, aiming to screen over 12,000 people in November and 100,000 in 12 months. Clinics will provide random glucose tests, education and Diabetasol samples.

The Colombo Stock Exchange held the 7th CSE Masterminds Quiz, with Acuity Knowledge Partners (Team 2) winning the grand cash prize of Rs. 1,000,000. Sector winners included Dialog Finance (Leasing & Finance), John Keells Stock Brokers (Stock Brokering) and NDB Wealth Management, and many listed firms participated as sponsors.

Colombo ASPI rose 0.26% to 22,850.95 while the S&P SL20 fell 0.13% to 6,268.87; top contributors were Hayleys, Ceylon Grain Elevators, Cargills and Bairaha Farms, with market turnover at LKR 9 billion.

Colombo market closed higher as ASPI rose 0.97% (217.65 pts) to 22,633.80 with turnover above Rs.11.2 billion and foreigners net sold Rs.1.4 billion. Banking led activity (29% of turnover); CTHR, HARI, CARG, JKH and DFCC were key positive contributors and HAYL bought 779,123 HARI shares.

Ambewela has launched a nationwide promotion offering 10 luxury holiday packages (one winner per week over 10 weeks) to consumers who buy 1L Ambewela milk and scan the QR code; the campaign runs across modern trade channels including Keells and Cargills Food City.

Country Roads charity concert will be held at Cinnamon Life’s The Forum on October 19, 2025; sponsors include Cinnamon Life, Dilmah, LOLC and Cargills, with tickets priced at Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 on sale at Cargills Food City outlets.

Colombo market rebounded as ASPI rose 0.4% (S&P SL20 +0.6%) on turnover of Rs.11.87bn led by CT Holdings (Rs.3.6bn), Cargills (Rs.1bn), CDB, PickMe and Sierra Cables. Selected banks (HNB, NDB, NHL, BIL, DFCC) were top positive contributors while foreign investors were net sellers (Rs.2.6bn), with CT Holdings seeing net foreign selling.

Cargills (Ceylon) PLC allocated over Rs.115 million through its Cargills Sarubima program for scholarships and rural community projects, including more than Rs.50 million for scholarships benefiting 1,300+ students and over Rs.60 million for infrastructure and community initiatives. The company also purchases over Rs.18 billion of fresh produce and milk annually from 23,000 smallholder farmers and is expanding retail stores and food processing capacity to support market access.