10% of Sierra Cables up for grabs on ‘All or None’ basis

Friday, 22 January 2021 00:18 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Billionaire investor Nathaniel Rothschild last week paid a visit to Sierra Cables to discuss a possible business collaboration. The British-born financier is a member of the famous Rothschild family. He was in Sri Lanka on a business cum leisure visit and was welcomed at the Sierra Cables factory in Athurugiriya. Here Rothschild is seen with Sierra Cables Executive Director D.S. Panditha and CEO Harsha Jayatunga

A block of 55,000,000 shares comprising 10% of the issued capital of Sierra Cables PLC was listed on the “All or None” board of the Colombo Stock Exchange yesterday at a price of Rs. 10.50 per share.

The offer will remain for three days on the AON board and will conclude on 25 January to the highest bidder.

The last "all or none" offer was in February 2018 by Serendib Land Plc.

Sierra yesterday closed unchanged at Rs. 9.60. Around 7.53 million shares changed hands via 919 trades for Rs. 72.4 million. On Wednesday, Sierra Cables saw 28 million of its shares traded, a bulk of which analysts said were connected to the “All or None” offer.

Sierra Cables is a subsidiary of Sierra Holdings which is one of the largest conglomerates in the island presently hitting headlines of business news with its plans of restructuring.

The company last week was in the spotlight with international financier and foreign investor Nathaniel Rothschild visiting the company, and his positive tweets about the country as a location for manufacturing.

Sierra has been an impressive company with a positive story, being a key player in the cable manufacturing industry. It has also taken part in the international cable manufacturing business through its joint ventures in countries such as the Fiji Islands, New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands, and also established its manufacturing plant in Kenya targeting the emerging East African Market.

According to analysts, in the 2019/20 financial year, the company performed exceptionally well reaching Rs. 5 billion turnover and increased its gross profit margin by 15% with contracts from the National Water Supply and Drainage Board and the Government.

During the previous year, Sierra Cables East Africa successfully brought down its losses and recorded a 7% growth in revenue. It is also expected for this entity to make greater profits as the company has secured significant tenders.

Cables Pte Ltd., a joint venture in Fiji, recorded a 58% increase in turnover during 2019/20 whilst its gross profit went up by 300% due to an expansion program which enhanced the product portfolio by shifting from domestic to industrial cables with higher margins.

The company is presently looking to capitalise on infrastructure developments of the country with the distinctive advantage of being a local manufacturer. Sierra has been upgraded by Fitch Ratings Lanka to AA- from BBB which reflects the stability of the company.