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.