Shareholders
Shareholders are the essence of the
companies. It is their money that fuels the Company
and provides growth and services to the larger society.
Our primary responsibility to them is to enhance their
shareholder value. But it is not shareholder value at
any cost but value with responsibility and profits with
sustainability. Part of our responsibility to our shareholders
is to create a vision, an infrastructure and a human
resource base that will make the Company a truly competitive
organisation that will lead from the front in the area
of communications.
At Rs. 52,341 million, we are now the largest company
in terms of market capitalisation in the Colombo Stock
Exchange. The SLT share reached a high of Rs. 30.00
in October 2003 before stabilising at Rs. 18.00 in December
2003. Earnings per share grew from Rs. 0.12 in 2000
to reach an all time high of Rs. 1.25 in 2003.
Investor Care: A New Frontier
in Shareholder Relations
SLT recently set up an Investor
Relations Division the main task of which is to communicate
with our shareholders and address their concerns. In
2003 we launched a plush quarterly newsletter 'Investor'
which is available both in PDF format on our website
and is also issued as a hard copy to all stakeholders.
The newsletter presents in a concise and easily digestible
form, the main events at SLT during the previous quarter.
The SLT website has a separate section, Investor Relations
that addresses investors concerns specifically. It contains
the Annual Reports in PDF and HTML formats and the daily
share price. Trading details are updated periodically
and investors may register to receive daily newsletters
on the performance of the share and other relevant company
information. Trading history is also available on the
website for those investors who want plot the performance
of the share over a period of time.
Constant Dialogue with Fund
Managers
Last year SLT met the country's
leading fund managers. The objective of the meeting
was to share with the fund managers information on SLT's
performance and business potential. The financial position
of the Company and SLT's strategy over the medium to
long were also discussed. Events since privatisation,
the security of the investment and the potential returns
on investments were other issues that were taken up.
Marketing SLT at the Investor
Forum
SLT participated at the CLSA
Investor Forum 2003 held in Hong Kong, held over five
days. One thousand institutional investors from 29 countries
attended presentations and investor meetings hosted
by 430 corporates. The event provides a unique opportunity
for telecom executives to meet potential investors and
dialogue with them on their company's investment potential. |