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Saturday, 27 May 2017 01:37 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Premier blue chip John Keells Holdings (JKH) yesterday announced record results for the financial year ended 31 March 2017, yet again proving its resilience despite challenges.
Profit before tax grew by 19% to Rs. 22.88 billion and after-tax profit was up 15% to Rs. 18.1 billion. The bottom line improved by 16% to Rs. 16.27 billion as per provisional results. 
Group revenue for the year was up 13% to Rs. 106.2 billion.
Pre-tax profit included Rs. 10 billion in finance income, up 25% from the FY16. Finance cost had come down by 56% to Rs. 436 million.
In the fourth quarter the group’s pre-tax profit was up by 14% to Rs. 7.4 billion and after-tax profit was up 8% to Rs. 5.6 billion whilst net profit attributable to equity holders of the parent was up 10% to Rs. 4.98 billion. Group turnover for the quarter saw a 19% growth to Rs. 29.8 billion.
All key business segments fared well in FY17.
Consumer foods and retail contributed Rs. 5.4 billion in pre-tax profit, up from Rs. 4.4 billion whilst its turnover grew to Rs. 45.8 billion from Rs. 37.1 billion.
The leisure sector saw its top line improve from Rs. 24 billion to Rs. 26 billion whilst its pre-tax profit grew from Rs. 5 billion to Rs. 5.7 billion.
Transportation reported a pre-tax profit of Rs. 3.1 billion as against Rs. 2.5 billion in FY16. Its revenue grew from Rs. 10.6 billion to Rs. 11.4 billion.
The property sector saw its pre-tax profit dip from Rs. 1.6 billion to Rs. 664 million whilst revenue declined from Rs. 4.5 billion to Rs. 1.3 billion.
Financial services revenue rose from Rs. 7.1 billion to Rs. 8.3 billion and pre-tax from Rs. 1.7 billion to Rs. 2.1 billion. Information Technology’s pre-tax profit jumped to Rs. 468 million from Rs. 96 million in FY16 whilst its turnover grew from Rs. 8.4 billion to Rs. 11.3 billion. The ‘Others’ segment of JKH business produced a pre-tax profit of Rs. 5.2 billion up from Rs. 3.7 billion whilst turnover grew from Rs. 2.6 billion to Rs. 2.9 billion in FY17.
JKH assets at the Group level amounted to Rs. 277 billion, up from Rs. 241 billion a year earlier. Equity attributable to shareholders of the parent was Rs. 178.6 billion, up from Rs. 155 billion in FY16. Total equity increased from Rs. 168.4 billion to Rs. 194.3 billion in FY17. Long-term liabilities rose from Rs. 48.6 billion to Rs. 54.9 billion and short-term liabilities grew from Rs. 24 billion to Rs. 28 billion.
The Board of Directors of the company has declared a final dividend of Rs. 2.00 per share for the financial year ended 31 March 2017. Earlier the company paid an interim dividend of Rs. 4.
