News & market updates

Beruwala Resorts PLC obtained a Rs. 60 million short-term working-capital loan from its ultimate parent, Colombo Fort Land & Building PLC, at AWPLR + 2%. The Related Party Transactions Review Committee said the transaction was on normal commercial terms and not prejudicial to minority shareholders.

C.W. Mackie PLC appointed Asoka Piyadigama as an Executive Director effective 1 August 2026. He currently serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director of York Arcade Holdings and Acme Printing and Packaging and sits on committees within the CFLB Group.

Colombo Stock Exchange rose 0.89% as the ASPI gained 198.46 points to 22,407 and the S&P SL20 rose 0.99% to 6,242, with turnover of 2.7 billion rupees. Top positive contributors were Dialog Axiata, John Keells and Hayleys, while Bukit Darah and Colombo Fort Land & Building were top decliners.

Colombo market rose for a second session as the ASPI gained 0.22% to 22,436.14 on turnover above Rs.3.1bn, driven by elevated HNW activity with PKME, Dialog and NDB among top contributors; foreigners were net sellers of Rs.333.3m.

Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI rose 0.83% to 21,581.80 midday, led by gains in Dialog, Hayleys, Colombo Fort Land & Building and Browns Investments; Commercial Bank slipped and Hela Apparel faces a trading suspension effective June 18 unless compliance is rectified by June 16.

ASPI plunged 1,290.68 points (-5.4%) to 22,443.38 on Feb 3 after Middle East tensions triggered panic selling and a 30-minute circuit breaker; the S&P SL20 fell 322.32 pts (-4.9%). Turnover was Rs.9.6bn (up 62.9%); foreign investors net sold Rs.59.6m; decliners included COMB, SAMP, HNB, JKH and HAYL, while LIOC, CFLB, BOPL, MRH and MADU were among gainers.

Court of Appeal ruled Colombo Fort Land & Building PLC is a Holding Company for tax purposes, rejecting the IRD's attempt to tax its dividends as trading profits. The court held dividends/interest for holding companies fall under Section 3(e) and are not part of total statutory income under Section 63, limiting double taxation.

Darley Butler bought 15 million York Arcade shares for Rs.198 million, raising its holding to 15.9m shares (10.6%). Darley Butler is a subsidiary of E.B. Creasy (EBCR); Lankem Ceylon (LCEY) holds a 50.15% controlling stake after buying from Colombo Fort Land & Building (CFLB).

CM Holdings PLC's public float rose to 31.17% at end-December 2025 from 28.9% at end-September 2025, a 2.27 percentage-point increase due to non-public shareholders selling shares. Colombo Fort Land & Building PLC held a 63.49% stake at end-September 2025 and Senthilverl Holdings raised its holding to 10.19% after buying 1m shares at Rs.71.

Lankem Ceylon (LCEY.N0000) acquired a 49.27% stake in York Arcade Holdings (YORK.N0000) from Colombo Fort Land & Building (CFLB.N0000) for Rs. 340.58m (369,495 shares at Rs. 921.75 each). The company said the purchase supports its financial restructuring and consolidates ownership in York Arcade.

E.B. Creasy & Co. PLC's public float rose to 26.43% as at 29 Aug after Colombo Fort Land & Building PLC sold 5.0m shares on 6 Aug and 1.5m shares on 27 Aug, increasing liquidity and moving the company above the CSE minimum public float threshold.

Dividend · Rs 0.25 · XD Sep 30, 2025

First And Final dividend of LKR 0.25/share; XD 2025-09-30; record 2025-09-30; payable 2025-10-21; FY 31.03.2025

Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI rose 0.11% to 19,826.57 with turnover of 3.2 billion rupees, led by diversified financials. Top movers included Colombo Fort Land & Building, Melstacorp and Agarapatana Plantations (up), while Dipped Products fell and Teejay Lanka rose.

Lankem Ceylon PLC will raise Rs.1.2 billion via a rights issue of 17,156,919 shares at Rs.70 and proposes a 2-for-1 share subdivision, subject to exchange and shareholder approvals. Proceeds are earmarked to settle a related-party due and partly repay bank loans.

Foreign investors were net buyers with a Rs. 510.4 million inflow as the ASPI rose 0.12% and turnover was Rs. 2.43 billion; key contributors included John Keells, Vallibel One, Commercial Bank, Dialog and others.

Colombo's ASPI rose 7.4% in January, with yesterday's turnover at Rs.5.1bn and foreign net selling of Rs.405.6m. Price gains in counters including Central Finance, Colombo Fort Land & Building, Ambeon Holdings, Teejay Lanka and Ambeon Capital and activity in Access Engineering and John Keells supported the market recovery.

Kotagala Plantations (KOTA.N0000) was downgraded by Fitch to 'CCC(lka)' and its unsecured debentures to 'CCC-(lka)' after a statutory wage hike and weakening liquidity. Fitch flagged insufficient cash to meet ~LKR540m and LKR496m maturities in FY25–26 and noted guarantees/possible support links to CFLB and Lankem (LCEY).