CTC feted among Business Today Top 25 corporate entities for 2015

CTC Legal and External Affairs Director Dinesh Dharmadasa receiving the award from Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe

Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) secured the fourth position among Business Today ‘Top 25’ corporates at the award ceremony held recently in Colombo. The awards platform recognises the financial performance of established blue chip organisations that stabilise the growing Sri Lankan economy. This is the fifth consecutive year that CTC has been ranked among the top 5 public listed corporate entities in the country by Business Today. 

Financial criteria considered for the ranking went beyond merely turnover to include, revenue, profit after tax, growth in sales turnover, growth in profit, return on equity, growth in earnings per share, market capitalisation, value of shares transacted and value addition. 

CTC’s Legal and External Affairs Director Dinesh Dharmadasa speaking at the award ceremony said, “I consider it an honour to accept this award and acknowledge this achievement on behalf of the company. In spite of the fact that we have come down by 1 position from last year, we are extremely happy in being positioned 4th because we have succeeded in being placed among the Top 10 for 10 consecutive years.CTC has performed commendably to achieve this recognition even with our volumes declining more than 20% in 2014, which is not an easy task.  

Unfortunately however our loss in volumes, only created another winner – a non-regulated and non-taxed product – Beedi, which grew its volumes by nearly 200% in the past seven years.” 

CTC is considered the highest contributor to government revenue paying over Rs. 74 billion in excise and taxes in 2014. The company’s recently released financial results showed that its contribution to state coffers has gone up by 27% in the first nine months of 2015 to Rs. 70 billion.

Speaking on winning the BT award, CEO and Managing Director, Felico Ferraz said, “We are humbly proud to win this accolade as it reflects not only our strong financial performance despite the many challenges laid before us but also our contribution to the country’s economy. Our continued achievements in this regard can be attributed to our sustainable business model, commitment to corporate excellence and the passion of our people. The challenges presented to us in the past year have undoubtedly pushed us to excel. This award is yet another valuable benchmark for us to assess our performance and ascertain future growth strategies for the company.”

CTC is also the second largest entity listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange further establishing the company amongst the top blue chip organisations in Sri Lanka. Further, CTC continuously invests in its CSR efforts to eliminate poverty in Sri Lanka and its flagship CSR project, the Sustainable Agriculture Development Programme, has been feted as one of the best in Asia.