Company filings and market news from across Sri Lanka's stock market.
Available evidence finds Sri Lanka's oil palm (≈10,400 ha, established on degraded/marginal low-country land, not via forest conversion) does not inherently cause greater soil degradation or erosion than tea, rubber or coconut when good management and organic-matter recycling are applied.
CMA Sri Lanka launched national Cost Accounting Standards to strengthen costing, control and reporting across large and medium public and private institutions; the standards prioritize sectors including power, telecom, manufacturing, drugs and agricultural/tea exporters to improve efficiency, pricing transparency and competitiveness.
Colombo Stock Exchange closed higher Monday with the ASPI up 0.65% at 22,695.00 and turnover of 4.81 billion rupees, driven by buying in banking counters. Top contributors included NDB, Dialog, Melstacorp and Colombo Dockyard, while Ceylinco Insurance and Windforce were among decliners.
Colombo Stock Exchange ASPI fell 0.37% to 22,552.24 midday, with plantations (Watawala, Sunshine, Namunukula among others) leading gains while John Keells, Sampath and Commercial Bank weighed on the index. Market turnover was Rs2bn; Abans Finance completed a debenture issue to raise Rs1.33bn.
Watawala Plantations and regional plantation companies are preparing to expand palm oil cultivation if the seven-year ban is lifted after a Plantations Ministry expert committee found no basis for the environmental or health concerns. Industry says private investors had committed about Rs.500m to expand 8,000 ha before the ban.
Dividend · Rs 2.00 · XD Apr 10, 2026
First Interim dividend of LKR 2/share; XD 2026-04-10; record 2026-04-14; payable 2026-04-30; FY ended 31st March 2026
The Planters’ Association urged a sustainable electricity tariff framework as the CEB has proposed a 13.6% tariff hike for Q2 2026, warning it would raise production costs for tea and rubber processors and hurt export competitiveness. Plantation companies (eg. Talawakelle) are increasingly investing in solar, mini‑hydro and efficiency measures to reduce grid dependence.
Gulf escalation and shipping disruptions have hit Sri Lanka's tourism, tea and apparel sectors, pulling the bourse down 12.7% through March 20; plantation and apparel stocks plunged (Namunukula -30.6%, Agalawatte -22%, Teejay Lanka -20.6%) while Sunshine benefits from higher palm oil prices.
Share split · 1:10 · XD Mar 9, 2026
ASPI hit a new high at 23,731.60 after Friday's 0.10% rise (22.9 pts) while the S&P SL20 rose 0.28% to 6,560.08; market turnover was Rs.4.73bn with foreign net inflow of Rs.65.3m. Top positive contributors were COMB, DFCC, CTHR, NAMU and COOP, and banking made up 38% of turnover.
Colombo Stock Exchange rose 0.10% to close the ASPI at 23,731.60 on Friday, led by gains in Commercial Bank, DFCC Bank, C T Holdings, Namunukula Plantations and Co-operative Insurance. Market turnover fell to Rs4.7bn from Rs9.2bn, with banks and capital goods among key contributing sectors.
Ceylon tea prices fell over two weeks due to buying disruptions from Iran, though High Growns recovered some losses on the second day. Rupee depreciation supported LKR prices and there was demand from markets like Russia and Dubai.
Namunukula Plantations bought 4,039,426 ordinary shares (0.95%) of National Development Bank from Arpico Insurance for Rs. 555.41 million at Rs. 137.50 per share. The transaction is a related-party, non-recurrent deal between subsidiaries of Richard Pieris & Co and falls within CSE Listing Rules limits.
Share split · 1:10 · XD Mar 9, 2026
Split issue
Namunukula Plantations PLC appointed Saman Doranegama as its Acting Chief Executive Officer; he will continue to serve as CEO of Kegalle Plantations PLC.
Horana Plantations PLC (part of Hayleys) launched T-SHADE, a Verra-registered shade-tree carbon credit pilot that has restored 55 hectares and planted 7,094 shade trees and aims to scale to 100,000 hectares over a 40-year crediting period.
The Planters’ Association is urging the government to lift the April 2021 ban on oil palm cultivation, saying Sri Lanka has spent over $175m on edible oil imports since 2021 and that sector investments exceeding Rs.23bn were stranded by the ban.
The Planters’ Association says Sri Lanka’s April 2021 ban on oil palm cultivation has forced plantation firms (including Watawala, Namunukula, Elpitiya and Malwatte Valley) into write-offs and contributed to over US$175m in edible oil import costs since 2021.
Colombo stock market opened the week higher as the ASPI rose 0.36% (77.31 pts) to 21,676.20, led by plantation counters and conglomerates; turnover was about Rs.4.2bn and foreigners were net sellers of Rs.15.6m.
Colombo stocks rose on Monday with the ASPI up 0.36% (77.31 points) as retail buying lifted plantation and some manufacturing shares; top contributors included Carson Cumberbatch, Melstacorp, John Keells, Namunukula and Watawala.
Colombo bourse extended gains as the ASPI closed at 19,092 (up ~47 points) on turnover of Rs.5.9bn; banking led activity (23%) and top contributors included DFCC, NDB, AEL, HNB and ASHO, while foreigners were net sellers of Rs.38.2m.
Multiple plantation companies (Agarapatana, Elpitiya, Talawakelle, Hatton, Watawala, Kegalle, Kelani Valley, Maskeliya, Namunukula, Kahawatte and Balangoda) are running scholarship programs supporting hundreds of students; Elpitiya alone funds 100 university and 80 A/L students at a cost exceeding LKR 12.4m.
Dividend · Rs 15.00 · XD Mar 5, 2025
First Interim dividend of LKR 15/share; XD 2025-03-05; record 2025-03-05; payable 2025-03-25; FY 2024/2025
Horana Plantations PLC (HOPL.N0000) became the first Sri Lankan company to develop an EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)-compliant management system, third-party verified by Preferred by Nature. The certification and HPL's knowledge-sharing aim to improve EU market access and industry preparedness.