Corporate Stalwarts

Peers and people look to the old guard – to hold the fort and hold out

No one would dispute that the nation faces the daunting prospect of very hard times. Everyone will seek ways in which to countenance and survive the months ahead. And many will look to private sector leadership for hope – and this hope will not be misplaced.

The 2022 rankings of the nation’s highly regarded comprises organisations that boast youth and age, expertise and experience, and resilience and regard: stalwarts of trade and commerce, they all are.

This year’s 10 Most Respected entities include conglomerates, private sector banks, big players in the apparel industry, a multinational consumer goods company and a telecommunications service provider, all of whom have contributed and continue to contribute to national wellbeing and development.

We are in the midst of times far bleaker than those endured during the pandemic. But the nation is not alone as the world braces for a downturn.

John Keells Holdings (JKH) once more takes a bow as its position at the summit remains unchallenged from the 2021 rankings. The leading blue-chip has held this position for 17 of the 18 years that LMD’s Most Respected entities survey has been published.

A giant conglomerate with some 70 companies and a presence in seven sectors, its group revenue for financial year 2021/22 increased by 71 percent to Rs. 218 billion. JKH has witnessed a strong recovery with most of its businesses reaching pre-COVID-19 levels.

JKH comes out best in eight of the 12 evaluation criteria set out by NielsenIQ’s annual peer review, a drop from sweeping the boards last year.

Last year’s second, third and fourth ranked organisations have also held onto their places.

Hayleys remains No. 2 among the nation’s Most Respected entities. Sri Lanka’s most diversified conglomerate delighted its shareholders with a record breaking profit before tax of Rs. 19 billion for the year 2020/21.

The 144-year-old entity headed the 2020/21 LMD 100 Leaderboard for the eighth time and fifth consecutive year. Kudos to its HR team and their people management, Hayleys is the highest scorer in that category in this peer review; and it remains second highest in the attributes of mana-gement profile, dynamism and corporate culture.

MAS Holdings retains third place and is reco-gnised in all the attributes covered by the pioneering survey.

One of South Asia’s larger manufacturers of lingerie with 53 manufacturing facilities in 17 countries employing over 93,000 people globally, MAS Holdings’ current portfolio encompas-ses businesses in IT, brands and industrial parks.

Holding onto its No. 4 ranking of the island’s Most Respected entities, Commercial Bank of Ceylon (ComBank) demonstrated remarkable operating resilience throughout the pandemic through customer focus, digital en-ga-gement and operational excellence.

Its consolidated profit after tax spiked by 42 percent year on year to more than Rs. 24 billion for the year ended 31 December 2021. In 2020 and 2021, the bank extended over 49,000 moratorium facilities to the tune of Rs. 217 billion to affected customers – and was able to maintain a net non-performing loan ratio at a low level of 1.44 percent by supporting customers to tide over the challenges of the pandemic.

Dialog Axiata has climbed one rung up the ladder to fifth place and retains the perception of being the most innovative entity in Sri Lanka, bumping JKH down to second place from the top spot it shared last year.

Awarded the title ‘Sri Lanka’s Most Valuable Brand’ for the third consecutive year by Brand Finance in LMD’s Brands Annual, the telco enjoys a brand value of Rs. 54 billion.

The Dialog Group continues to be a significant contributor to state revenues, remitting almost six billion rupees to the government in the first quarter of this year.

And there’s a reason to rejoice for Unilever Sri Lanka as it improves from 10th to sixth place this year. Established in 1938 as Lever Brother Ceylon Limited, this consumer goods company is driven by its purpose – i.e. to make sustainable living commonplace – and counts over two dozen brands that have been market leaders in Sri Lanka since the 1940s.

Some 96 percent of the company’s products are manufactured locally and more than 20 of its brands are exported.

 

LOLC Holdings (LOLC) remains within the top 10 Most Respected entities in this year’s rankings, maintaining its position of No. 7.

Despite pandemic related challenges, the group has sustained its credit rating of ‘[SL]A’ and rose to third place in the 2020/21 LMD 100 Leaderboard. For the financial year ended 31 March 2021, the conglomerate reported unprecedented bottom line results in the form of a profit after tax of Rs. 53 billion and total income of 161 billion rupees – a first for any corporate in the country.

In eighth place in the rankings is Brandix Lanka, significantly improving its standing from 2021’s No. 11. The top-flight apparel ma-nu-facturer – the first such firm in the world to obtain the ISO 50001 standard system certification – leads in the crisis management category of the 12 evaluation criteria set out by NielsenIQ’s annual review.

Moving up three notches to mark its appearance in the top 10 of 2022’s Most Res-pected entities is Aitken Spence, which occupies ninth place. For the financial year 2020/21, its group revenue exceeded Rs. 31 billion rupees and a commendable 12,500 jobs were created.

Sampath Bank, which rose up the ranks of the country’s Most Respected entities to fifth place in 2021, has dropped to share ninth place with Aitken Spence with an identical weighted score of 245 points.

Despite this, the bank retains its pre-sence in three of the evaluation criteria set out by the annual peer review – viz. honesty, vision and national perspective – though it has lost last year’s positive perceptions vis-à-vis financial performance, management profile and corporate culture.

So this year’s rankings showcase an impressive lineup of corporate entities and national stalwarts that have served and contributed to the resilience of the country’s commerce and industry steadfastly.

And they will step into the breach and do what they have always done: lead.

Yes. A nation’s hope is not misplaced.

– Compiled by Mrinali Thalgodapitiya