-Sep 15th, 2009
SriLankan Catering (Pvt) Ltd. has reported an impressive net profit after tax of Rs. 1.26 billion during the last financial year, and is looking forward to an even greater performance with the expected boom in the country’s tourism industry following the Dawn of Peace.
Nishanta Wickremasinghe, Chairman of SriLankan Catering who is also the Chairman of SriLankan Airlines Group said: “SriLankan Catering continues to be a tower of strength to our nation and the SriLankan Airlines Group, with yet another stellar performance. The company has proven itself to be a perfect example of consistency and has crossed the Rs. 1 billion profit mark for the third time in the last four years.”
This performance for the financial year 2008/09 was a 30% increase over the net profit of the previous year, a tremendous achievement by the catering arm of Sri Lanka’s National Carrier during a year of crisis in the global airline industry.
Sarath Fernando, CEO of SriLankan Catering, said: “The Dawn of Peace has brought with it exciting possibilities for growth in the country’s tourism industry. SriLankan Catering is perfectly positioned with a state of the art operation and an experienced team to grasp these opportunities with both hands and propel the company towards even greater heights.”
Tourism arrivals have been increasing rapidly over the last several months, and BIA is experiencing a steady growth in business. Expectations are high that more airlines will soon fly in to BIA to take advantage of opportunities, and existing airlines would also increase their frequencies.
Mr. Fernando, the first Sri Lankan CEO of the Company, added: “The SriLankan Catering Team has worked wonders to overcome the multiple challenges faced during the past year. This is an extraordinary performance by a talented team, operating under the guidance of a Board that is 100% Sri Lankan, and the direction of an experienced management team.”
SriLankan Catering is the fully owned subsidiary of SriLankan Airlines, and provides inflight meals for airlines that operate in and out of Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). These include such globally reputed airlines as Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, Malaysian Airlines, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Kuwait Airways, China Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, as well as Mihin Lanka and SriLankan Airlines.
SriLankan Catering maintains the highest standards of efficiency, food safety, hygiene and quality control throughout its procurement, production, storage and operations processes. It is one of a handful of airline caterers in the world to hold the triple certification of ISO 9001:2008 - the latest international standard for quality management; ISO 2200:2005 for quality and efficiency; and HACCP Codex Alimentarius for food safety and hygiene.
SriLankan Catering has distinguished itself by winning many prestigious culinary awards. These include ITCA Mercury Awards for Innovation & Excellence, and Food & Beverage. The company is also a consistent performer at the country’s main catering competition Culinary Art.
The company’s modern production facility at BIA, built at an investment of Rs. 2.5 billion three years ago, is considered to be among the finest in the Asian region. It produced an average of 11,000 meals per day during the last financial year, and requires no further investment for several years since it has a production capacity of 25,000 meals per day. The 18,300 square metre flight kitchen, which is Halal certified, is located on a 5-acre property at BIA. It currently produces more than 60 different menus.
SriLankan Catering also operates three restaurants at BIA, and supplies catering services for several other restaurants and lounges in the airport that are operated by other institutions including Airport & Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd.
The company’s future plans include maximizing revenue streams from existing customers, actively soliciting new airline customers at BIA, recapturing business of former customer airlines that suspended operations to BIA, and enhancing productivity of its facility and staff.
The company, which has staff strength of 550 with an average experience of 12 years, is preparing to diversify its range of products to new markets outside the airline industry.
SriLankan Catering, which was founded in 1979, is a BOI approved entity which enjoys a tax holiday up to 2021. The company is a member of the International Travel Catering Association (ITCA), and the Inflight Food Service Association of the United States.
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