First Capital records Rs.231mn profit for FY16/17

First Capital Holdings PLC, a full-service investment bank providing a diverse range of advisory services and financial products through its subsidiaries, reported a consolidated profit after tax of Rs.231 million for the financial year 2016/17 (FY16/17) compared to Rs.47 million in the previous year. 
The group’s primary dealer arm, First Capital Treasuries PLC, was the main contributor towards the financial results recording a profit after tax of Rs.343 million for FY16/17 against Rs.11 million in FY15/16, attributed to net interest income and fair valuation gains on government securities. 
First Capital Treasuries is the pioneer non-bank primary dealer appointed by the Central Bank in 1982 and is listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. Further, the company’s credit rating was reaffirmed by ICRA Lanka as A- with a stable outlook. 
The capital markets advisory of the group, First Capital Limited, which specialises in structuring and placement of corporate debt securities, successfully mobilized Rs.12.4 billion through structuring and placement of corporate debt securities. 
Despite the above performance, First Capital Limited was negatively affected as a result of higher funding cost and fair valuation losses on trading securities. 
The performance of the group’s subsidiaries was further impacted due to damped investor sentiments as a result of the proposed changes to taxation via the budget proposal – 2017. 
“Despite the setback experienced in the preceding quarters, the group is optimistic in its outlook and have planned several calculated improvements to its operations,” said Director/Group CEO Dilshan Wirasekara.