Wednesday Nov 06, 2024
FT
Wednesday Nov 06, 2024
Tuesday, 28 September 2021 02:11 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Empower Board new entrant via introduction, EML Consultants Ltd. (EML) fared exceptionally well on its debut yesterday.
EML saw four million shares exchange hands via 2,708 trades for Rs. 58.4 million. The share, introduced with a reference price of Rs. 2, touched an intra-day high of Rs. 24.00 before closing at Rs. 16.50 up by 725%. The listing via introduction involved 90.9 million shares.
The manager to the introduction was Atarah Capital Partners Ltd., which was responsible for the first Empower Board IPO via Chrissworld.
The discount was recommended to maintain the fair value of a share within the equity value range and would be an attractive starting price for secondary market trading upon listing.
EML Managing Director K.A.K. Jayatilake owns a 74% stake or 67.3 million shares. Other shareholders include Dinal Wijemanne (16%), T.M. Waloopillai (8%) and Chairman T. Hewawasam (1%).
EML listed with the objective of enhancing the governance structure of the company by complying with the corporate governance requirements and continuing listing obligations of the Colombo Stock Exchange. It is aimed to build a transparent corporate profile where stakeholders would be able to always assess the operational and financial performances of the company.
Another objective was to provide liquidity for the shares through an active secondary market where an exit mechanism is made available to existing shareholders at a future date.
EML Consultants was incorporated in 1993 to provide technical and management consultancy services to the private and public sector in Sri Lanka and across the globe. Services provided by EML include Environment and Natural Resources Management (ENR); Capacity Building and Human Resources Development (CBH) Programs; Urban and Industrial Engineering (UIE) Service and Special Project Management.
In FY20, EML revenue was Rs. 133.7 million and gross profit was Rs. 31 million and net profit amounted to Rs. 8.8 million. In the previous year revenue was Rs. 126 million and gross profit was Rs. 37 million whilst EML reported a loss of Rs. 0.9 million. In 2018, the company saw a profit of Rs. 7.4 million whilst revenue was Rs. 159.6 million and gross profit was Rs. 44 million.
