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NEWS CENTER |
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Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka is Business Today's Number One
Daily News - Thursday March 10th 2005 |
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One of the largest conglomerates in Sri Lanka, owned by business tycoon Harry Jayawardena, emerged at the top of the Business Today TOP 10 list of companies for the financial year 2003/04, edging out the best of the best of corporate Sri Lanka.
Business Today, Sri Lanka's premier magazine for the corporate word, unveiled its Business Today TOP 10 companies for the financial year 2003/04.
The leader of the pack was Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka (DCSL), closely followed by John Keells Holdings, Sri Lanka Telecom, Hatton National Bank, Commercial Bank, Ceylon Tobacco Company, Aitken Spence and Company, Hayleys, DFCC Bank, and Carson Cumberbatch and Company.
The latest scorecard is primarily based on the financial performance of Sri Lanka's private sector for the year 2003/04. This year too, many fought closely, but unfortunately only the TOP 10 are reported. This year's all-star list had two new companies - SLT and Carsons - entering the TOP 10 for the first time.
Since he took the helm in 1992, Harry Jayawardena has skillfully piloted the spirit super tanker through many acquisitions and a brand building exercise. Both company and boss have shown their mettle in a tough year. The latest addition to the DCSL group is Sri Lanka Insurance (formerly Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation).
Strategic investments by DCSL in effect have increased the overall profitability of the DCSL group. The size of the company with a diversified business portfolio in beverage, plantations, insurance, travel and tourism, cargo and logistics and power generation, together with an overall impressive group performance have secured DCSL the prized number one position in the Business Today TOP 10. This achievement is a testament of the foresight and business acumen of visionary Harry Jayawardena.
The ranking is a reflection of the qualities and attributes that have come to be accepted by people advocating good management practices in today's business world. The criteria established by Business Today during the last eight years in consultation with business analysts were used to measure the performance of the private sector.
The criteria used for the ranking are: Turnover, Growth in Turnover, Profitability, Growth in Profitability, Return on Equity, Earnings Per Share, Value Added Per Employee, Market Capitalization, Value of Shares Transacted, Value Addition, Corporate Social Responsibility, Quality of Products and Services, and Employer of Choice.
The latter three criteria were surveyed through focus groups representing a cross-section of interest groups. The weights applied to the three qualitative factors in the list of criteria are marginal so that the credibility of the ranking, primarily based on published information, is protected.
As in the past, weights are not disclosed for proprietary reasons. Business Today, however, wishes to report that weights were assigned to the criteria mentioned above after due consideration to significance of the criteria and ensuring all the business sectors are fairly represented. Weights were applied uniformly with no prejudice.
In previous years, most of the Business Today TOP 10 performers represented the financial sector. However, this year, half of the TOP 10 companies represent diversified conglomerates, which have outnumbered some of the top banks like NDB and Seylan in the financial sector, perhaps due to shrinking banking spreads. Also, the presence of DCSL and CTC, the only two manufacturing companies to be in this list, perhaps tells us something about our social pattern.
Selecting ten winners out of a large population that comprise Sri Lanka's vibrant and competitive private sector is no easy task.
Many competed intensely, and the slightest shift in focus in the result could have been dramatic. The single-minded purpose of the robust evaluation process adopted by Business Today is to select the best of the best. The TOP 10 results were compiled by Dinesh Weerakkody, Keith Bernard and Shiron Gooneratne.
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