Hayleys retains prime position in 25th edition of LMD 100

Hayleys Chairman/Chief Executive Mohan Pandithage and Hayleys Co-Chairman Dhammika Perera

For the third consecutive year, the iconic diversified multinational conglomerate Hayleys PLC was ranked number one on the prestigious LMD Top 100, further consolidating the group’s position as one of the largest and most dynamic Sri Lankan corporates.  The prime position in this year’s rankings was once again awarded to Hayleys in recognition of the unprecedented top-line growth and the group’s resilient performance during the financial year 2017/18 (FY18). Notably, this was also the sixth instance in which Hayleys topped the LMD 100 ranking since its inception. 

Considered among the country’s most innovative producers of value-added exports, the group continues to serve as a lynchpin of the national economy. In FY18, this legacy culminated in Hayleys becoming the first Sri Lankan listed corporate entity to cross turnover in excess of $1 billion coinciding with its 140th anniversary celebrations.       

“Despite major challenges – particularly post-Easter attacks – Hayleys has shown exemplary leadership by investing over Rs. 2.3 billion over the last year across the group in the expansion of its operational and manufacturing capacities, with several of our subsidiaries serving as champions of value-added exports across the globe. The Hayleys Group, with a well-established reputation for innovation and value addition, has helped its businesses overcome many different challenges and carve out a space for Sri Lankan products and services in global markets. Moving forward, the group will now leverage our strong presence in all regions of the country to help drive all of our businesses and the Sri Lankan economy as a whole into a new era of growth, facilitated by strategic investments into technology and digitisation,” Hayleys Chairman and Chief Executive Mohan Pandithage stated. 

The outstanding growth momentum built up by Hayleys in FY18 was further strengthened in FY19 when the group’s substantial top-line secured a growth of 34% YoY, concluding the year at Rs. 219 billion.  Notably, this marks the sixth occasion that Hayleys has occupied the prime position in Sri Lanka’s version of the Fortune 500. The ranking also follows hot on the heels of Hayleys once again securing its ranking among the Top 3 listed corporates in the 15th annual edition of LMD’s Most Respected Entities in Sri Lanka. 

Established in 1878 by Chas. P. Hayley as a trading house in Galle specialising in import and export, the Hayleys Group has since grown to serve as a centrepiece of the Sri Lankan economy while maintaining a global presence of manufacturing and marketing offices across five regions with business interests spanning a total of 16 sectors.  Today it stands out as one of Sri Lanka’s most prominent success stories, having been the first listed Sri Lankan corporate to surpass $1 billion in revenue and accounting for 3.3% of the nation’s total export earnings.