LankaClear’s profit after tax grows by 39%

Monday, 10 September 2012 01:07 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The 10th Annual General Meeting of LankaClear (Pvt) Ltd. was held on 30 August 2012 at the Hotel Galadari.

Releasing its Annual Report for 2011/12, LankaClear stated that the company’s net revenue grew by 12% whilst the profit after tax grew by 39% compared to the previous financial year.

The theme of the Annual Report released was ‘From a decade of excellence to a vibrant future’. The company recorded net revenue of Rs. 390 m, profit before tax of Rs. 190 m and profit after tax of Rs. 126 m.

The company was able to maintain an impressive net profit margin of 32%, which was an improvement from the previous year’s 26%. Earnings per share increased from Rs. 6.04 to Rs. 8.35 and net assets per share increased from Rs. 43.59 to Rs. 50.44.

The company reported that the volume of cheques cleared through Cheque Imaging and Truncation System (CITS) increased by 8% compared to the previous financial year whilst the total value of cheques cleared increased by 12% where the total value of cheques cleared in 2011/12 was Rs. 6,335 billion.

Items cleared through the Sri Lanka Interbank Payment System (SLIPS) increased by 1.6% compared to the previous year whilst the value of SLIPS items cleared grew significantly by 30.9% compared to the previous year. The total value of items cleared through SLIPS during the financial year 2011/12 stood at Rs. 454 billion.

Addressing the shareholders at the AGM, LankaClear Chairperson Priyantha Liyanage stated that in 2012 LankaClear completed 10 years of service to the financial sector. She stated that during the last 10 years LankaClear progressed from the national cheque clearing house to the national payment infrastructure provider, marking a decade of excellence of this unique public private partnership.

She added that LankaClear expanded its services over the last 10 years, brought economies of scale to the banking sector and improved the efficiency of the payment systems in Sri Lanka.

The Chairperson also briefed the shareholders on the Common Card and Payment Switch (CCAPS), which is currently under implementation, and stated that the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has approved the CCAPS as the National Payment Switch and CCAPS would create the backbone infrastructure for all future electronic payments in the country and would avoid the duplication of infrastructure and bring economies of scale and provide the best benefits to the participating banks.

LankaClear is a company jointly owned by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and all licensed commercial banks.