The First Capital Team have had a great year, marking many milestones while working remotely since October to ensure that our customers’ financial aspirations are achieved, while we protect our staff, our families and our community.
Today we are excited to share some screenshots of our Town Hall meeting where the whole team was logged in together!
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First Capital Holdings PLC has announced the appointment of Tharusha Ekanayake as its Chief Operating Officer (COO) with effect from 09th November 2020. A banking and finance professional, he previously held the role of Vice President / Deputy Head of Treasury – Nations Trust Bank PLC. Tharusha brings 21 years of experience in financial services, spanning Fixed Income Securities, Treasury and Investment Banking activities.
Working across all subsidiaries of the Group, Tharusha will play a critical role in strengthening the Company’s Fixed Income Dealing, Structuring and Trading activities and also Capital Markets Advisory services.
Speaking about the appointment, Director / Chief Executive Officer of First Capital Holdings PLC, Dilshan Wirasekara said: “Tharusha Ekanayake joins us at a crucial juncture in order to drive the future growth of our group businesses. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge on fixed income, further fortifying First Capital’s position as the leader in this space.
Tharusha holds a Bachelor of Science, Special Degree in Chemistry – Honours from the University of Peradeniya.
ICRA Lanka has taken a consolidated view of the First Capital group, comprising of First Capital Holdings PLC and its subsidiaries, which is involved in a range of financial services such as primary dealership, equity trading, corporate advisory, debt structuring and asset management. There is a strong interlink between the entities through sharing of a common brand, management team, systems and group treasury functions.
The ratings upgrade factors in the status of the company as the holding company of First Capital Treasuries PLC, the leading standalone primary dealer currently in Sri Lanka with an issuer rating of [SL]A with Stable outlook. The ratings upgrade also factors in the improvement in the capital and gearing profiles, good market position offering diverse financial services, a strong senior management team, risk management processes to reduce market and operational risks, as well as improvement in the capitalization profile through healthy internal generation.
In photos –
ICRA Lanka Limited, has upgraded the issuer rating of First Capital Treasuries PLC (FCT or “the Company”) to [SL]A (pronounced SL A) from [SL]A- (pronounced SL A minus).
ICRA Lanka has also upgraded the issue rating of the LKR 750 Mn Subordinated, Unsecured, Redeemable Debenture programme of FCT to [SL]A- (pronounced SL A minus) from [SL]BBB+ (pronounced SL triple B plus).
The issue rating of [SL] BBB+ (pronounced SL triple B plus) with stable outlook for the LKR 500 Mn Subordinated, Unsecured, Redeemable Debenture programme of the company has been withdrawn as the said debentures have matured and there is no amount outstanding against the rated instrument. The outlook on the long term ratings remains Stable.
ICRA Lanka has taken a consolidated view of the First Capital group (comprising of First Capital Holdings PLC and its subsidiaries), which is involved in a range of financial services such as primary dealership, equity trading, corporate advisory, debt structuring and asset management. There is a strong interlink between the entities through sharing of a common brand, management team, systems and group treasury functions.
The ratings upgrade considers the healthy performance of FCT (a subsidiary of First Capital Holdings PLC rated [SL]A), following the robust earnings of LKR 1,208 Mn and LKR 1,356 Mn in FY2020 and Q1 of FY2021, respectively, in comparison to LKR 96 Mn in FY2019 (LKR 1,671 Mn in FY2018).
First Capital Asset Management Ltd., the managers of the First Capital Wealth Fund, has announced a dividend of Rs. 100 per unit for the year 2019/20.
The fund has delivered a return of 11.14% (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) since inception as at 5 October.
‘Astute assessment of market opportunities, leveraging on interest rate fluctuations and prudent management is attributed to the successful growth of the unit trust funds under our management,” said First Capital Asset Management Ltd. AGM – Asset Management Kavin Karunamoorthy.
“Utilising our expertise as a specialised knowledge and industry expert, in debt market services and prominent non-bank primary dealer in Sri Lanka, we are confident that the unit trusts managed by First Capital Asset Management Ltd. will continue to reap the rewards of timely, well-informed investments,” he added.
First Capital Asset Management, a subsidiary of First Capital Holdings PLC, is licensed and approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) while Bank of Ceylon (BOC) acts as the trustee and custodian for the fund.
The company specialises in managing investments for high net-worth individuals, trusts and companies. First Capital Asset Management Ltd. is a subsidiary of First Capital Holdings PLC which offers investment solutions in fixed income, equities, wealth management and capital markets advisory.
First Capital presents “Mid-year Outlook – 3rd Research Conference” a follow-up to the hugely successful “Investment Strategy 2020 – 2nd Research Conference” held in February 2020, at the Oak Room, Cinnamon Grand.
The event is geared to provide participants of the investment community, an overview of our expectations on the economic front mainly on interest rates, AWPLR, exchange rate, bond expectations, GDP forecast etc.
Mid-year Outlook 2020 webinar will be held on Tuesday, 22nd September 2020 at 3.00 pm.
Presenters, Dimantha Mathew and Atchuthan Srirangan from our Research Team will take you through a recap of recommendations of Jan 2020 and post covid-19 revisions, in addition to discussing “Why W-Shaped Recovery?”.
Register today by clicking https://tiikm.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_J5980arwT5GU3R4yJIPwLA
Colombo 17 August 2020: First Capital Holdings PLC (the Group) the only listed investment institution in Sri Lanka, continued its growth momentum into the first quarter of 2020 (Q1 2020) recording a Profit after Tax of LKR 1.46Bn for the quarter ended 30th June 2020, compared to Rs. 581.96Mn in the corresponding period of the previous year.
The results are reported on the back of a robust performance for year 2019/20, where the Group posted a Consolidated Profit after Tax of LKR 1.07Bn for the year. First Capital, with an impressive history of over 35 years, currently has total assets of LKR 32.5Bn and Equity of LKR 4.9Bn.
“Reflecting on the past 3 months, what stands out most is the Group’s record-breaking performance, making it without a doubt, the best year to date”, commented Chairman, First Capital Holdings PLC, Nishan Fernando.
The Group’s Primary Dealer operations were positively impacted by the CBSL’s efforts to revive the economy through monetary policy easing measures to counter the COVID-19 pandemic impact, with the business reporting a Profit after Tax of LKR 1.36Bn for the quarter (2019/20 – LKR 562Mn).
The Corporate Finance division too recorded notable results, mobilising LKR 3Bn for its clients through structuring and placement of corporate debt securities, generating a fee income of LKR 25Mn for the quarter (2019/20 – LKR 31Mn).
The Wealth Management division of the Group delivered a strong performance reporting a fee income of LKR 17Mn for the quarter (2019/20 – LKR 11Mn) amidst challenges faced during the COVID-19 lockdown period. The division showed a growth in assets under management to end with LKR 27.9Bn as at 30th June 2020 (31st March 2020 – LKR 26.4Bn).
Despite the setback experienced in the first quarter of 2020, with the CSE remaining closed for 7 weeks, the Group’s Stock Brokering division recorded revenue of LKR 14Mn for the quarter (2019/20 – LKR 06Mn).
“Given that COVD-19 is still an ongoing situation, we expect the government would continue with its current accommodative monetary policy stance for the year 2020”, commented Director/Chief Executive Officer, First Capital Holdings PLC, Dilshan Wirasekara.
Colombo 12 August 2020: First Capital Holdings PLC (the Group) the only listed investment institution in Sri Lanka, recorded a Consolidated Profit after Tax of LKR 1.07Bn for the year 2019/20, amidst negative headwinds that saw Sri Lanka, reporting subpar economic growth for the third consecutive year. The results show a significant growth compared to LKR 8Mn in the previous year. First Capital, with an impressive history of over 35 years, has total assets of LKR 45.6Bn and Equity in excess of LKR 4Bn.
“Our ability to deliver impressive results even in tough times, is a testament to the Group’s robust operating model. I am convinced that the ongoing emphasis placed on strengthening each of our core businesses and firming up their positions within their immediate operating domain, has been a critical success factor for the Group”, commented Chairman, First Capital Holdings PLC, Nishan Fernando.
The Group’s Primary Dealer contributed LKR 1.2Bn (2018/19 – LKR 96Mn) Profit after Tax for the year, claiming a substantial volume-based market share in both the primary auctions as well as in the secondary market during the financial year.
Capitalising on the potential in the listed and unlisted debt market, the Corporate Finance division mobilised LKR 42Bn for its clients through structuring and placement of corporate debt securities, generating a fee income of LKR 175Mn (2018/19 – LKR 69Mn).
The Wealth Management division of the Group, made remarkable progress to deliver its best financial results to date, reporting a fee income of LKR 64Mn (2018/19 – LKR 33Mn). The division showed a significant growth in its assets under management to end with LKR 26.4Bn as at 31st March 2020 (31st March 2019 – LKR 5.9Bn).
Furthermore, the Company’s benchmark unit trust, the First Capital Money Market Fund was the best-performing unit trust fund in the country in 2019/20.
The Group’s Stock Brokering unit also recorded revenue of LKR 71Mn for the year 2019/20 (2018/19 – LKR 53Mn).
“While the last 12 months have been challenging for many local businesses, several aspects of our immediate operating environment worked in our favour; we are looking ahead and focusing our efforts on improving efficiency across all businesses to deliver enhanced results to our valued stakeholders’, commented Director/Chief Executive Officer, First Capital Holdings PLC, Dilshan Wirasekara.
The Group’s [SL]A- credit rating was reaffirmed by ICRA Lanka Limited, reconfirming the stability of the Group.
First Capital Holdings PLC paid a total dividend of LKR 9 per share for 2019/20 totaling to LKR 911Mn.
The Company is seeing an encouraging turnaround, largely driven by a relentless commitment to its clients and consistently delivering market-beating returns
First Capital Holdings with over 35 years of expertise operating in the capital market of Sri Lanka has investment solutions for everyone; from retail mutual funds for ordinary folk to structured corporate, sovereign debt instruments and equity trading for sophisticated investors with larger appetites. The prolonged lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the economy to a standstill and eroded investor sentiment to new lows. First Capital, however, is already seeing an encouraging turnaround, largely due to two reasons: a relentless commitment to its clients and sharp investment decisions that consistently yield market-beating returns.
A senior executive at First Capital Mahesh Amarasinghe – Assistant General Manager – Debt Structuring & Placement, managing a portfolio that serves the interest of both the investors and the issuing corporates, discuss the efforts that lead to success. For instance, by deploying technology, processes were quickly in place to ensure staff across the group were fully operational during the lockdown executing complex transactions and providing corporate clients finance advisory services to tide the cashflow crunch. A new online platform was introduced which helped clients monitor their portfolios and carry out transactions.