Sri Lanka Sunshine group June net hit by wage hike

Aug 05, 2011 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's Sunshine Holdings said June 2011 quarter net profit fell 46 percent to 63 million rupees from a year ago as earnings from plantations were eroded by a wage hike given to workers.









Work on two other power projects is to begin soon ensuring the firm achieves its target of 10MW by 2013, Wijetilleke said. Earnings per share fell to 47 cents compared with 87 cents a year ago, a stock exchange filing said.

Sales went up 12 percent 2.8 billion rupees from a year ago although gross profit was down 15 percent and other income fell by over half.

"Gross profit for the period decreased to 415 million rupees compared to 489 million rupees from the same period last year due to the significant increase in wages to all employees in the plantations sector," chairman Rienzie Wijetilleke said in a note accompanying the interim results.

The new agreed wage of 515 per day is an increase of 27.

10 percent from the last agreement.

"This adversely affected the (plantations) sector performance," Wijetilleke said.

"However, the reduction in profit was partially offset by the contributions from the healthcare sector with improving sales of higher margin diagnostics and surgical segment sal