Raigam Wayamba Salterns PLC, which was listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in 2010 is the front line player in the value added salt market in Sri Lanka and it supplies a range of consumer salt products under the popular brands “Isi”, “Ruchi”, “Welcome” and “Triple Washed” as well as various salt products used as an input for different industries in bulk form.

All the consumer products of Raigam Wayamba Salters are SLS certified for its quality and consistency and the processes are ISO certified.’8

The Raigam Wayamba Salterns Group is equipped with salterns, salt refineries and processing plants located in Puttalam and Hambantota districts. In addition to that the raw material supply for these operations has been ensured by the 1,800 Acre saltern established in Kuchchaweli in Trincomalee District by the parent company of the Raigam Group. Further the Puttalam Salt Limited (one of the successor to the National Salt Corporation) is also an associate company of the Raigam Group.

The well-known Raigam brand and state of the art island wide distribution network are distinct strengths of the Raigam Group. The Raigam distribution network operates on a latest IT platform and also includes distribution channels for modern trade, industry and bakery sectors.

Financial Performance 2021/2022

Sri Lanka’s economy which was under-performed for two years due to COVID pandemic situation was experiencing the impacts of the foreign exchange crisis in the latter part of the financial year 2021/2022. Despite the fact that the financial year 2021/2022 was filled with many challenges, as a result of prudent management practices implemented and followed, the Raigam Waymba Group was capable of reporting its ever-highest growth in 2021/2022.

The group turnover increased from Rs. 959.6 million to Rs. 1,147 million recording a growth rate of 19.5% Y to Y. At the same time the Profit after Tax grew from Rs. 149.7 million to Rs. 215.6 million at an annual growth rate of 44%. As a result of these successful financial performances the Earning Per share for the year stood at Rs. 0.76 compared to Rs. 0.53 in the corresponding year. This has made a significant impact on the value of the shareholders’ investment increasing the Net Asset Value Per Share form Rs. 5.06 to Rs. 5.74.

As the industry does not depend on imported components other than packaging materials and few other consumables, the impact on foreign exchange issue was insignificant. The main inputs, sea water and solar energy are available at no cost. As a result of that the group was capable to report a value addition of Rs. 669.2 million for the year of which the contribution to the government tax revenue was Rs. 129.3 million.

These progressive financial performances were timely published by the company on quarterly basis for the use of the investors of the share market and they had reacted positively demanding the shares of the company at satisfactorily higher levels.

Considering the satisfactory financial performance and the expectations of shareholders the Board of Directors of the company has proposed a dividend of Rs. 0.15 per share for the financial year 2021/2022. The dividend per share has increased by 50% compared to previous year and RWS is one of the few companies that have proposed an incremental dividend in the current difficult business environment.

Directors are delighted with the ability of the company to increase the value of shareholders’ investment with the remarkable financial performance reported and more importantly the group’s ability to operate strongly contributing to the national economy at this crucial moment.

RWS enters Agri-processing Industry with “Nenaposha”

It is the policy of the Raigam Group to keep on re-investing its hard-earned retained earnings in beneficial new ventures to expand scope the business and value creation through diversification and integration. This policy has been a pillar of success and the present position of the Group established as a national level business entity in Sri Lanka.

The Raigam Wayamba Group launched its agriculture based new venture, Raigam Wayamba Cereals (Pvt) Ltd (RWC) in the financial year 2021/2022, which will engage in promoting cultivation of selected agricultural crops and value addition through agro-processing. This will be a great achievement of the group through which it will join hands with the most important sector of our country, agriculture.

Under this project the RWC has established a state of the art warehouse complex and an agro-processing centre at Wellawa in the Kurunegala District.

Today, the RWC happily announces the launch of the inaugural product under the brand “Nenaposha”. Nenaposha is manufactured according to well-balanced formulae using Corn, Soy Bean, Green Gram and Rice; all are sourced from local farmlands. These grains are cleaned, pre-cooked, extruded and machine packed in the process adhering to highest quality and hygiene standards. In addition to the authentic nutritional contents of our grains, the nutritional value of Nenaposha is enhanced with adding the vital Vitamins A, B1, B12, C and D3 together with Calcium Carbonate and Ferric Pyrophosphate. Raigam -Nenaposha does not include any artificial substance such as flavours or preservatives.

Nenaposha which is presented in the form of breakfast cereal (powdered), can be consumed making “aggala”, “vade”, “rotty or “pittu” according to the choice of the consumer or converting to a smooth paste with milk (like breakfast cereal).

Accordingly the “Raigam Wayamba Group” will expand its business dimension changing its sole product line - the value added salt to a diversified product arena. No doubt that this will be interesting information to the share market and the investors of the parent company, Raigam Wayamba Salterns PLC.

Raigam Wayamba to Promote Cultivation in Rajarata

RWC is not merely a food manufacturing entity. It has a broader scope of business covering the supply chain from the grass root level to ensure the right quality and quantity of input grains. RWC has already implemented programmes to promote cultivation of required crops under forward contract basis in Rajarata areas. The out-grower extension programme implemented for cultivation of Soy Bean in the Mahaweli System H and Galenbindunuwewa areas cover a total land area exceeding 500 Hectares and 1,250 beneficial farmer families. All the inputs required for cultivation including seed, fertilizer and chemicals are provided on a loan basis to recover from the value of final output, where the entire harvest will be purchased by the company at the minimum guaranteed price or the competitive market price whichever is higher. Apart from inputs, RWC provides technical assistance through a trained field staff. The harvest is purchased at the farmland itself leaving the post-harvest handling costs zero.

This scheme has created a keen interest among the farmer families for cultivation of Soy Bean, and farmers are highly benefited as the company directly purchase from the farmers without the intermediary parties. The other grains required for the project, Corn, Green Gram and Paddy are also purchased directly from the farmers. This mechanism has paved way for the company to purchase right quality fresh crops while maximizing benefits to the farmer community.

RWC is proud to put on record that this programme will definitely support to maximize the crop coverage of our fertile soil in Rajarata, sufficiently irrigated with Mahaweli and other irrigation projects such as Huruluwewa, with economic crops and also to change the traditional system that depend on primary agricultural produce to value addition and finally to uplift the agricultural sector at large.

There is no doubt that all our stakeholders including customers and the investors will also appreciate this effort, which will be a great strength to our farmers who struggle with the soil with many barriers to feed the nation.