Wins ‘Best Exporter’ awards in the Knitted Fabric Sector for 2019-20 & 2020-21

Teejay Lanka PLC, Sri Lanka’s leading fabric manufacturer, won twin awards as the ‘Best Textile Exporter’ in Sri Lanka at the combined 2019-20 and 2020-21 Presidential Export Awards ceremony hosted by the Export Development Board (EDB).

These are Teejay Lanka’s second and third consecutive ‘Best Exporter’ awards in the Knitted Fabric Sector. The Company won this title for the first time on its debut at the Presidential Export Awards in 2019. The combined awards ceremony marks the 24^th edition of this awards programme and was necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic which prevented the conduct of last year’s ceremony.

The Best Textile Exporter awards were presented to Teejay in recognition of its outstanding contribution to the export sector and to the economic development of Sri Lanka. Teejay Lanka which has been on a steady growth trajectory over the years reported a total revenue of US$ 112.9 million for 2020-21 and US$ 109.2 million for 2019-20. Of this, 11 per cent (about Rs 2.4 billion at current exchange rates) was generated by exports to customers in Bangladesh, Italy, India, and Haiti in 2020-21, while in 2019-20, exports of approximately Rs 5 billion represented 23 per cent of revenue.

“These awards are a testament to our resilience and adaptability in turbulent times,” Teejay Lanka CEO Mr Pubudu De Silva commented. “Despite the disruptions created by the pandemic and the increase in prices of cotton and other inputs, we have maintained our growth trajectory and retained our status as Sri Lanka’s top knit fabric exporter for three years in a row. The Group is now focused on catering to our customers’ next phase of fabric requirements with synthetic and niche fabric offerings that are high in quality and value.”

Matching Teejay Lanka’s milestone accomplishments, its wholly-owned subsidiary Teejay India too has been recognised for its outstanding services to the textile industry. For the financial years 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21, the Company won Best Exporter Awards in the Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone (VSEZ) at the Export Excellence Awards presented by the Export promotion Council for Export Oriented Units (EOU) and Special Economic Zones (SEZ).

Teejay has invested $ 26 million to increase the India plant’s daily output by 20 tons, which is aligned with the Group’s focus on building its synthetic fabric manufacturing capacity in Teejay India and would contribute to the Group’s target of becoming a US$ 300 million business by 2023. The first phase of expansion under this project is expected to come on line in January 2022, adding five tons a day to production capacity.

The 24^th Presidential Export Awards ceremony for the financial years 2019-20 and 2020-21 was held on 26^th November at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) under the patronage of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Sri Lanka’s largest textile manufacturer and the first textile manufacturer in the country to receive membership of the US Cotton Trust Protocol, Teejay Lanka PLC is a public quoted company with 40 per cent public ownership. The company is backed by Sri Lanka’s largest apparel exporter Brandix Lanka which has a 33 per cent stake. Pacific Textiles of Hong Kong whose key shareholder is the Tokyo Stock Exchange listed Toray Industries Inc., owns 27 per cent of Teejay Lanka.

Besides being adjudged the Best Textile Exporter in Sri Lanka for the past three years by the EDB, Teejay has also been named among the 100 Most Respected Companies in Sri Lanka by LMD.

An ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and OHSAS 18001:2007 compliant company and the first in the industry to develop green fabric, Teejay has been listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) since 2011 and was included in the S&P Top 20 Index in Sri Lanka. The Company has been named among the Forbes ‘200 Best under a Billion in Asia’ and been recognised as the ‘International Textile Firm of the Year’ and the ‘International Dyer and Finisher’ by World Textile Institute, London.

Photo caption: Teejay Lanka CEO Mr Pubudu De Silva (above) and the company’s General Manager - European Brands, Corporate Communication & CSR Ms Samadhi Weerakoon receive the Presidential Export Awards for 2020-21 and 2019-20 respectively from Trade Minister Dr Bandula Gunawardena, MP.