Ceylinco Holdings rebranding sparks spin-off speculations

By Nishel Fernando
Speculations have emerged about the potential spin-offs following Ceylinco Insurance PLC’s rebranding to Ceylinco Holdings PLC, a move that reflects its expansion beyond insurance into other business sectors.
Ceylinco Insurance PLC secured the shareholders’ approval to the name change to Ceylinco Holdings PLC, at the Annual General Meeting held on May 21, with effect from May 25, this year. Accordingly, the company in a stock filing announced the name change on May 27. 
Ceylinco Holdings PLC remains the largest private sector insurance company in the country along with operations in other business verticals such as education, power and energy, healthcare and financial services.

“The company is no longer a pure insurer and has investments in healthcare, education, power generation and other businesses. Increasing investments have been made in the education segment in recent times by acquiring established institutes, which seem to have a healthy ROI. Can we expect some of these businesses to be spun off in the future?” Colombo-based investment management firm Prempra Capital (Pvt.) Ltd stated. 
In the 2023 calendar year, education, healthcare and power generation contributed to Rs.1.38 billion, Rs.100 million and Rs.48 million to the company’s bottom line. 
In particular, the company has announced plans to sustain its operational capacities while making prudent investments to expand beyond the current production capabilities in the power and energy sector.
“The further exploration of the renewable energy sector holds tremendous promise, as we look into expanding our solar power projects in the next few years; cross-border ventures will be pursued to establish our presence overseas, in countries and regions with growing demand for affordable and renewable power. Ultimately, efficiency, cost reductions and pragmatic strategic investments will be evaluated at every step of the way,” Ceylinco Group Executive Chairman/Chief Executive Officer A.R. Gunawardena outlined in the recent annual report.
In addition, the group also plans to broaden its educational offerings through new academic programmes that align with the changing demands of job markets and student aspirations.
“The Ceylinco Education Group (CEG) plans to broaden its educational offerings through new academic programmes that align with the changing demands of job markets and student aspirations. The group aims to leverage digital tools and online learning to offer an interactive and accessible learning experience while improving and increasing physical facilities available through its schools and higher education institutions,” Gunawardena stated. 
In recent years, the education arm of Ceylinco Insurance PLC, CEG, has grown with new acquisitions and location expansions that have bolstered its presence within the local education sector. CEG has positioned itself in both the primary education system and higher education service sector in Sri Lanka; this has become possible through the vast network and resources of its subsidiary companies, ICBT and ANC. ICBT, a degree-awarding higher education institute, for the first time, crossed the Rs.1 billion mark in pre-tax profitability, as a result of higher revenue in 2023.
In addition, the company is in particular has embraced digital transformations across all business verticals, as it focuses on enhancing the digital and online management strategies to increase business growth and expand market presence.