📈 SOE Profits Fall 17.6% to Rs. 444.4 Bn in 2025 Dragged by CEB

Overall Performance • Total profits of Sri Lanka’s main 51 State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) dropped 17.6% YoY to Rs. 444.4 Bn in 2025. • Excluding the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), the remaining 50 SOEs grew profits by 21.5% YoY to Rs. 483.2 Bn. • Government revenue from SOE dividends and levies jumped 37.5% YoY to Rs. 56.5 Bn. Top Gainers & Sectors • State Banking Sector: Remained the strongest pillar. Bank of Ceylon (BOC) led with a PBT of Rs. 120.8 Bn, followed by People’s Bank at Rs. 64.4 Bn and NSB at Rs. 44.5 Bn. • Ports & Logistics: Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) recorded robust profits of Rs. 57.3 Bn. • Energy: Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) PBT rose 6.6% to Rs. 36.5 Bn, despite an 8.7% revenue drop, aided by cost-recovery fuel pricing and lower oil import bills (down 9.3% to US$ 1.94 Bn). Key Loss Makers • CEB: Swung to a heavy net loss of Rs. 38.7 Bn (from a Rs. 141.6 Bn profit in 2024) due to tariff cuts, causing a 22.8% drop in sales revenue despite 5.9% higher consumption. • Aviation: SriLankan Airlines net loss before tax widened significantly to Rs. 23.2 Bn (from Rs. 7.6 Bn) due to forex pressures and debt costs, despite higher traffic revenue. • Other Losses: Lanka Sugar Company (Rs. 3.2 Bn) and Lanka Sathosa (Rs. 530 Mn). Strategic Reforms • Cabinet approved restructuring, closing, or merging various non-commercial SOEs, liquidating 33 non-functional entities, and unbundling CEB functions into 6 successor firms.