Hayleys PLC crowned winner at CA Sri Lanka’s 54th Annual Report Awards

Leading conglomerate, Hayleys PLC triumphed at the 54th Annual Report Awards winning the coveted ‘Cyril Gardiner Memorial Trophy’ Gold Award for Overall Excellence in Annual Financial Reporting at the grand finale held on Tuesday, 04th December 2018.

John Keells Holdings PLC won the silver award, while Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC came in third with the bronze award under the same category.

The event organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) was held at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo under the patronage of the Governor of Central Bank Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy.

Under the ‘Management Commentary Award’ Hayleys PLC won gold, while Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC came in second to win the silver award and Softlogic Life Insurance PLC won bronze. Meanwhile, Union Assurance PLC won gold under the ‘Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting Award’ category, while Access Engineering PLC won silver and People’s Leasing & Finance PLC won bronze.

The ‘Corporate Governance Disclosure Award’ was won by Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, while Hatton National Bank PLC came in second to win the silver award and Softlogic Life Insurance PLC was adjudged third to win the bronze award.

Top corporates were also honoured for adapting integrated reporting practices at the grand finale.  Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC won the gold award under the ‘Integrated Reporting Award’ category, while Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC was adjudged second place with the silver award and Softlogic Life Insurance PLC won the bronze award.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC won the gold award under the ‘Integrated Reporting : Best Disclosure on Capital Management’ category, while L. B. Finance PLC won the silver and People’s Leasing & Finance PLC won the bronze. Under the ‘Integrated Reporting: Best Disclosure on Business Model’ Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC was adjudged the winner bagging the gold award, while Softlogic Life Insurance PLC won silver and Mercantile Investments & Finance PLC won bronze.

This year the organisers received applications from a wide range of organisations including conglomerates to multinationals as well as small and medium-sized enterprises and non-profit organisations who vied for the prestigious awards, which spans a history of over half a century.

Under the sector awards, John Keells Holdings PLC and Hayleys PLC shared the ‘Lal Jayasundara Memorial Trophy’ gold award for ‘Diversified Holdings (Groups above 10 Subsidiaries)’ sector, while Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC won the gold for ‘Diversified Holdings (Groups up to 10 Subsidiaries).’ Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC won the ‘Edmand J Cooray Memorial Trophy’ gold award under the ‘Banking Institutions’ sector, while Bank of Ceylon won the ‘Albert A. Page Memorial Trophy’ gold trophy for the ‘State Bank’ sector.

Nawaloka Hospitals PLC won gold under Healthcare Institutions, Hayleys Advantis Limited won gold under the Service Organisations sector, Sri Lanka Telecom PLC won gold under the Telecommunication Companies sector and United Motors Lanka PLC won gold under Motor Companies.

Under the ‘Finance Companies & Leasing Companies (Total Asset Above LKR 20 BN)’ sector L. B. Finance PLC won gold, while under the ‘Finance Companies & Leasing Companies (Total Asset up to LKR 20 BN)’ sector the gold award was won by Singer Finance (Lanka) PLC. Meanwhile, Singer (Sri Lanka) PLC won the gold under the ‘Trading Companies’ sector, while the Nuwara Eliya Hotels Company PLC won the gold under the ‘Hotel Companies’, and Talawakelle Tea Estates PLC won gold under ‘Plantations Companies’.

Royal Ceramics Lanka PLC and Dipped Products PLC shared the gold award under the ‘Manufacturing Companies (Turnover Above LKR 5 BN)’ sector, while both Lanka Walltiles PLC and Alumex PLC also shared the gold award under the ‘Manufacturing Companies (Turnover Up To LKR 5 BN)’ sector. Meanwhile, HNB Assurance PLC and Softlogic Life Insurance PLC shared the gold award for the ‘Insurance Companies’ sector, while Ceylon Cold Stores PLC won the gold for ‘Food & Beverages Companies’.

Under the ‘Not-For-Profit Organisations (NPO) Including Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO)’ sector, the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing won the gold award, while Seylan Developments PLC won the gold under the ‘Land & Property Companies’. Meanwhile, Access Engineering PLC won gold under ‘Construction Companies’, Laugfs Gas PLC won gold under ‘Power & Energy Companies’ and LankaClear (Pvt) Limited won gold under the ‘Small and Medium Sized Entities’ sector.

Speaking at the event, Chief Guest Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy said that the CA Sri Lanka Annual Report Awards Competition has become an important landmark in the corporate calendar of the country. “We live in a world where the purpose of a good annual report is to provide a clear understanding not only of the financial results of an organisation but also its values, achievements and contribution to society. Therefore, CA Sri Lanka is to be commended for organising this competition which encourages organisations to meet global standards,” he said.

President of CA Sri Lanka, Mr. Jagath Perera said that as Sri Lanka inches towards upper middle income status, the professional community and corporates, have an important role to play in our country’s forward journey, by conscientiously promoting transparency, accountability and good governance which are important cornerstones for any developing economy. “In this journey, producing precise and transparent annual reports in line with the highest global standards should also remain at the top of the agenda of any organisation immaterial of its standing or stature in the business world, as financial reporting also has a long term bearing on both a company and country,” he said.

Chairman of the Annual Report Awards Committee, Mr. Heshana Kuruppu said that the event truly showcases the commitment that all corporates have shown towards the maintenance of very high reporting standards and transparency. “Hearty congratulations to all the winning corporates. You have definitely set an admiring benchmark for others to follow. We hope, that you achieve brilliance in all your endeavors,” he said.

This year the organisers received over 130 applications.  The evaluation of annual reports were carried out over a period of 3 month process and involved over 300 plus professionals, industry experts, academia and business leaders.