July, 11, 2022
Reports Rs.201million profit
People’s Merchant Finance PLC (PMF)’s journey which began in the era of a bright economic outlook has since weathered many external environmental and economic pushbacks. Yet, the determination of the leadership, management and all employees has resulted in overcoming all obstacles to push forward in its journey of growth and development. Hence, the Company’s reported Rs.201million as operating profit before taxes for the year ended 31st March 2022, a year when Sri Lanka’s economy has hit crisis mode is an achievement to be celebrated.
PMF started its journey of transformation in 2019 with a vision to renew, revitalise and reposition the Company to become an innovative player in the financial services sector and evolve to the next phase of business growth. The Company has since successfully grown and prospered with ample support from its major shareholder, Sterling Capital Investments (Private) Limited (SCIL), a subsidiary of Rush Japan Cooperation.
Credit is given to the Company’s five-year strategic plan for being flexible to integrate changes while maintaining its strong core objectives. The prudent resource management measures adopted together with the implementation of cost control mechanisms have also enabled the Company to prioritise effectively while pursuing attainable targets.
PMF Chairman Chandula Abeywickrema, shared his thoughts; “We started our transformational journey when the economy was on a growth phase, with expectations of achieving phenomenal growth by capitalising on opportunities that emerged. However, we faced many unexpected challenges since 2019, from the terror attacks in Sri Lanka to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and now the economic crisis that we face as a nation. Still, we continued to remain positive in our outlook for PMF. We had our fundamental beliefs in place and our plan was for long-term sustainable success. We believed that despite new challenges and difficulties, we would remain focused on innovatively offering financial services to the people in the way they need it.”
The Company’s success is on record. PMF also recorded a phenomenal deposit base growth amid the prevailing crisis reiterating customer confidence in the PMF brand. The trust and loyalty of customers together with stringent processes also resulted in asset base increases, lending portfolio growth, and a lowering NPL ratio.
The Company launched its first non-traditional innovative entrepreneurship loan product for the middle and low-end SME marketplace. They worked towards enhancing customer convenience resulting in branch refurbishments and relocations with the aim to go where customers are. PMF also firmly followed through on digitalisation activities to be future-ready for a greater online presence while catering to the increasing virtual presence of customers.
PMF CEO Nalin Wijekoon said; “it is heartening to see the progress the Company has made in the last year. We, the company and the people, faced many challenges. Even then, we continued believing in the vision set out by the Chairman and the BOD for the future path of PMF. The achievements we’ve made to date are much greater than our expectations and much credit goes to our 200-plus employees who worked closely with the management and our customers to provide customised and timely financial services.
Today, the Company has divested its legacy systems and brought together a core team of experts to tackle every challenge. The addition of Mr.Terence Kumara as the Deputy CEO, business restructuring activities, augmentation of risk/governance frameworks, and compliance with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s directives and regulations further strengthen the Company’s position for future growth.
Business continuity has been the foundation of every decision made, every strategy implemented, and all the resources utilised. The Company is confident of progressing to the next phase of its transformation strategy which is expected to support economic recovery while enriching the lives of more people in more places by providing financial services whenever and wherever the need exists.
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