# BUKIT DARAH PLC Financial Summary

Canonical URL: https://pal.lk/updates/buki-financial-summary
Symbol: BUKI.N0000
Company: BUKIT DARAH PLC
Sector: Food, Beverage & Tobacco
Published: 2026-08-15T17:10:05Z
Last updated: 2026-08-15T17:10:04Z

# Bukit Darah PLC Financial Summary and Investment Analysis

## Executive Overview

Bukit Darah PLC is a diversified Sri Lankan listed conglomerate with operations spanning oil-palm plantations in Indonesia, oils and fats in Malaysia, beverages, portfolio and asset management, real estate, leisure, investment holdings and management services. Operations also extend through Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.

**Periods covered:** Q3 2023 to Q2 2026 on a natural/calendar-quarter basis, plus audited annual information through 2026-03-31. The 2026-03-31 annual statements were audited by KPMG with an unmodified opinion; Q2 2026 interim statements are unaudited and were not reviewed by the auditors.

The main analytical distinction is between **statutory earnings** and underlying operating performance. For the 12 months ended 2026-03-31, revenue rose 7.75% to Rs.348.712 Bn and gross margin improved, but PAT fell 47.49% to Rs.17.919 Bn, largely because the Indonesian Presidential Task Force administrative fine was Rs.28.283 Bn and business-asset impairment was Rs.5.601 Bn. Management's adjusted core profit nevertheless rose 21.3% to Rs.58.739 Bn. Q2 2026 then returned to PAT of Rs.10.130 Bn, although this was 24% below Q2 2025.

## Financial Performance

### Revenue and Profitability Trends

*Rs. Bn except margins/EPS.*

| Period  | Revenue | Gross Profit |      PAT | GP Margin | PAT Margin | EPS (Rs.) |
| ------- | ------: | -----------: | -------: | --------: | ---------: | --------: |
| Q3 2023 |  69.845 |       20.387 |    8.540 |    29.19% |     12.23% |     30.50 |
| Q4 2023 |  69.606 |       19.133 |    3.884 |    27.49% |      5.58% |     15.19 |
| Q1 2024 |  72.520 |       19.943 |    5.285 |    27.50% |      7.29% |     18.70 |
| Q2 2024 |  71.665 |       18.184 |    6.121 |    25.37% |      8.54% |     23.73 |
| Q3 2024 |  78.219 |       19.400 |    4.230 |    24.80% |      5.41% |     12.58 |
| Q4 2024 |  88.468 |       24.178 |   15.744 |    27.33% |     17.80% |     68.12 |
| Q1 2025 |  85.290 |       24.252 |    8.035 |    28.43% |      9.42% |     33.01 |
| Q2 2025 |  84.773 |       25.599 |   13.350 |    30.20% |     15.75% |     57.52 |
| Q3 2025 |  90.585 |       23.794 |   10.752 |    26.27% |     11.87% |     42.70 |
| Q4 2025 |  91.293 |       25.354 |    6.267 |    27.77% |      6.86% |     20.21 |
| Q1 2026 |  82.062 |       23.350 | (12.450) |    28.45% |   (15.17%) |   (76.93) |
| Q2 2026 |  89.547 |       26.733 |   10.130 |    29.85% |     11.31% |     43.09 |

Revenue has structurally moved above its 2023 levels, while gross margins recovered from 24.80% in Q3 2024 to 29.85% in Q2 2026. For the latest rolling four quarters, revenue increased 5.0% and gross profit 6.2% versus the preceding four quarters, but PAT fell 64.5%, dominated by the Q1 2026 regulatory charge.

In Q2 2026, revenue grew 6% YoY, but operating profit fell 14%, PBT 21%, PAT 24% and owners' profit 25%. Administrative expenses rose 31%, distribution expenses 30%, a Rs.440 Mn asset write-off was recognized, FX moved to a Rs.171 Mn loss, and FVTPL gains fell to Rs.379 Mn from Rs.1.899 Bn.

### Segment Performance

For the 12 months ended 2026-03-31, Beverage generated 38.80% of revenue and 69.15% of operating profit; Oil Palm generated 34.79% of revenue but only 5.92% of operating profit after the regulatory impact.

| Segment                      | Revenue (Rs. Bn) |     YoY | Operating Profit (Rs. Bn) |                 YoY |
| ---------------------------- | ---------------: | ------: | ------------------------: | ------------------: |
| Beverage                     |          135.304 |  +8.10% |                    19.845 |             +20.93% |
| Oil Palm Plantations         |          121.333 |  -4.92% |                     1.698 |             -94.67% |
| Oils and Fats                |           87.070 | +29.81% |                     4.157 |             +50.85% |
| Portfolio & Asset Management |            3.565 | +55.49% |                     2.959 |             +74.90% |
| Real Estate                  |            0.389 | +10.93% |                     0.201 |             +26.61% |
| Leisure                      |            0.980 | -13.14% |                   (0.009) | Loss narrowed 76.6% |

Q2 2026 demonstrated diversification benefits: Beverage PAT rose 19.6%, Oils and Fats PAT 109.4%, Real Estate PAT 44.2%, and Leisure's loss narrowed. Conversely, Oil Palm PAT fell 34.7% and Portfolio & Asset Management PAT fell 71.5% as fair-value gains normalized.

## Balance Sheet Analysis

| Period  |  Assets | Total Equity | Gross Borrowings | Net Debt/(Cash) | NAV/Share |
| ------- | ------: | -----------: | ---------------: | --------------: | --------: |
| Q2 2025 | 311.511 |      171.098 |           76.706 |           1.803 | Rs.722.99 |
| Q3 2025 | 315.441 |      178.994 |           69.130 |        (10.748) | Rs.758.31 |
| Q4 2025 | 332.990 |      185.697 |           71.500 |        (20.335) | Rs.783.69 |
| Q1 2026 | 335.601 |      175.592 |           77.561 |        (11.812) | Rs.718.43 |
| Q2 2026 | 353.302 |      188.456 |           80.647 |         (2.332) | Rs.777.77 |

At 2026-03-31, current ratio was 1.79x, debt/equity 44.17%, debt/assets 23.11% and interest cover 9.66x, substantially stronger than earlier years. At 2026-06-30, current ratio improved to approximately 1.94x and gross debt/equity was approximately 42.8%.

However, the net-cash cushion contracted from Rs.11.812 Bn to about Rs.2.332 Bn as cash/fixed deposits declined relative to borrowing growth. Total assets expanded 5.3% QoQ in Q2 2026, while total equity increased 7.3%.

## Cash Flow Analysis

For the 12 months ended 2026-03-31, operating cash flow was Rs.42.315 Bn, investing outflow Rs.20.680 Bn and financing outflow Rs.9.059 Bn. Capex was Rs.17.668 Bn, implying simple free cash flow of approximately **Rs.24.646 Bn**, versus Rs.30.891 Bn in the preceding 12-month period.

Q2 2026 operating cash flow fell 61% YoY to Rs.4.585 Bn. Inventory absorbed Rs.5.116 Bn, receivables Rs.7.715 Bn and payables Rs.1.460 Bn. Investing outflow widened to Rs.8.014 Bn, including approximately Rs.3.77 Bn of PPE, bearer-plant and intangible additions plus Rs.4.299 Bn placed in fixed deposits. Capital commitments increased to Rs.6.971 Bn from Rs.2.639 Bn at 2026-03-31.

## Key Financial Ratios and Growth Indicators

For the 12 months ended 2026-03-31: EBITDA was Rs.45.796 Bn, EBITDA margin 13.13%, ROE 6.34%, P/E 19.86x, P/B 1.20x, EV/EBITDA 3.90x and dividend yield 1.67%.

Revenue CAGR from 2023-03-31 to 2026-03-31 was approximately 1.8%; owners' profit CAGR was approximately -29.0%, reflecting earnings volatility and the latest exceptional charge. Revenue per employee rose 17.4% YoY to Rs.22.719 Mn while employee count declined 8.2% to 15,349.

At the Q2 2026 closing price of Rs.877.50, P/B was approximately 1.13x using NAV of Rs.777.77. Trailing-four-quarter EPS is approximately Rs.29.07, implying a mechanical P/E near 30.2x; this is heavily distorted by the Q1 2026 regulatory loss.

## Economic and Market Context

The reports describe Sri Lanka's CY2025 GDP growth at 5.0%, core inflation at 2.5% by 2026-03, reserves near USD7.0 Bn, and tourism arrivals at a record 2.36 Mn. These supported domestic recovery, but energy prices, geopolitical conflict, supply-chain shocks and exchange-rate pressure remained risks.

Palm operations faced softer CPO prices and tighter Indonesian forest-land regulation. Approximately **5,877 hectares of planted and 6,275 hectares of unplanted land** across five subsidiaries were affected. The repossessed planted area is now operated under a management agreement. Management also identifies possible strong El Niño conditions as a crop risk.

## Future Potential and Outlook

* **Beverage:** export revenue grew 57.4% and export volume 26%, reaching 15+ countries. Strategy centers on export expansion, premiumisation, product innovation and cost efficiency; cumulative optimization savings were approximately Rs.2.4 Bn over three years.
* **Oil Palm:** priorities are replanting, plantable-land development, smallholder expansion, milling capacity, roads/drainage and energy efficiency. Yield/hectare rose 4% and oil-extraction rate 3%; Goodhope ranked 9th of 100 in the 2025 SPOTT assessment.
* **Oils and Fats:** stronger crushing margins, new customers and higher-value specialty fats support expansion into dairy, confectionery and bakery applications.
* **Portfolio & Asset Management:** combines equities with fixed income and generated strong realized gains, but earnings remain exposed to securities-market valuation cycles.
* **Real Estate/Leisure:** real-estate occupancy improved from 80% to 86%; Pegasus Reef refurbishment/repositioning creates longer-term potential but constrains near-term room inventory.

## Risks and Challenges

Key report-identified risks include commodity-price volatility, Indonesian regulatory/land exposure, excise/VAT pressure on beverage affordability, foreign exchange and floating-rate debt, securities-market risk, tariffs, changing consumer preferences, climate/natural disasters, liquidity/credit, cybersecurity and talent retention.

At Q2 2026, corporate guarantees included Rs.3.5 Bn for Plasma loans and Rs.66.1 Bn for subsidiary facilities. Beverage bank guarantees were Rs.4.197 Bn and documentary credits Rs.2.002 Bn. Carson Cumberbatch PLC also provided Rs.377 Mn for an overseas litigation liability.

## Shareholder and Corporate Information

At 2026-06-30, public holding was **22.72%** across 1,870 public shareholders, with float-adjusted market capitalization of Rs.19.820 Bn. Major holders included Rubber Investment Trust Ltd 20.04%, Portelet Ltd 9.23%, V. Nataraj 8.56%, Skan Investments 8.19%, Goodhope Holdings 7.99%, and Employees' Provident Fund 2.80%; the top ten collectively held approximately 86%.

Ordinary director holdings were H. Selvanathan 153,112 shares and M. Selvanathan 89,914 shares. Dividend per share increased from Rs.10.68 to Rs.14.43 for the 12 months ended 2026-03-31; a subsequent Rs.5.73 ordinary-share interim dividend was approved with record date 2026-07-27.

The supplied 90-session snapshot to 2026-08-14 shows a Rs.888.50 close, +3.04% return, Rs.752-Rs.1,020 range, median daily turnover of only Rs.207.98K and median daily volume of 232 shares, indicating very thin trading liquidity. Foreign holding remained broadly stable at 29.96%.

## Investment Decision Indicators

**Strengths:** diversified earnings base; strong Beverage and Oils and Fats momentum; recovering gross margin; materially improved leverage versus earlier years; positive free cash flow; export growth; growing NAV and dividends.

**Weaknesses:** high statutory earnings volatility; significant non-controlling interests; Q2 2026 operating cash-flow compression; reduced net-cash buffer; reliance on fair-value/investment income in some periods; extremely thin share liquidity.

**Opportunities:** beverage exports and premiumisation, specialty fats growth, plantation productivity/replanting, real-estate occupancy improvement, tourism recovery and disciplined deployment of the strengthened balance sheet.

**Threats:** Indonesian regulatory intervention, climate/El Niño effects, palm-price swings, alcohol taxation, geopolitical/supply-chain shocks, FX/rates and substantial subsidiary guarantees.

**Overall assessment:** underlying operations are stronger than the headline 2026 statutory profit suggests, supported by management-defined core-profit growth and a clear Q2 2026 earnings rebound. However, the regulatory event demonstrates that plantation exposure can create unusually large downside volatility, while the latest quarter shows weaker cash conversion. The key decision variables are whether Beverage/Oils and Fats growth and plantation normalization can sustainably outweigh regulatory, commodity and working-capital risks. The most important metrics to monitor are **Oil Palm earnings after exceptional charges, operating cash flow and working capital, net cash, Beverage volume/export growth, gross margin, and recurring EPS excluding fair-value and exceptional items**.