• Underpinned by export-oriented businesses and strategically diversified portfolio – distinctive strengths of Hayleys’ business model
• Enables Hayleys to access offshore foreign currency capital markets on more competitive terms

Hayleys PLC (CSE: HAYL.N0000), Sri Lanka’s most diversified conglomerate, recently announced that it has been assigned an international foreign currency rating of ‘B+’ with a Stable Outlook by S&P Global Ratings on its international rating scale, a globally comparable benchmark distinct from domestic or national credit ratings.

The S&P global rating places Hayleys on a globally comparable benchmark used by international investors, lenders and capital markets worldwide.

S&P’s global rating is underpinned by the distinctive strengths of Hayleys’ global business model. Approximately 50% of the Group’s earnings are generated in foreign currency through its export-oriented businesses, providing a structurally independent hard-currency earnings base that is structurally independent of country risk to a large extent. The Group operates across 17 sectors and more than 20 countries, with production, sales and marketing operations spanning five continents, and continues to expand its global footprint.

The global rating enables the Group to access international foreign currency capital markets on more competitive terms than has ever before been available to a Sri Lankan company, broadening its investor base to include international institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds and global lenders who require a rated counterparty.

Mohan Pandithage, Chairman & Chief Executive, Hayleys PLC stated “This is a defining milestone for the Hayleys Group and Sri Lanka’s private sector. S&P’s assessment reflects the financial strength, governance discipline and the unique structure of our business model. This rating signals to global investors that Sri Lanka has institutions of genuine world-class standing.”

The rating is further supported by the Group’s record financial performance. In FY2025/26, Hayleys delivered record revenue of Rs. 585.02 billion, profit before tax of Rs. 38.04 billion – and brought USD 800 million in foreign exchange into Sri Lanka, representing approximately 5% of the country’s total national export income. The S&P international rating now places that performance in a global frame of reference that international capital markets can formally act on.

Sarath Ganegoda, Group Executive Director, Hayleys PLC stated “This rating is the outcome of a business model built deliberately for resilience, with approximately 50% of our earnings in foreign currency, a portfolio diversified across 17 sectors, and an operating discipline that has delivered record results during tough conditions. For our shareholders and for the international investment community, S&P’s B+ rating provides an authoritative, globally comparable validation of Hayleys.

“We view this as a platform for raising capital on competitive terms in the international markets, for deepening our global partnerships, and through focused long-term strategy, delivering the sustained, high-quality earnings growth our shareholders expect. This prestigious global rating is the starting point, not the ceiling.”

Hayleys caters to close to 5% of global demand for household and industrial rubber gloves and a commanding 16% global market share in coconut shell-based activated carbon. The Group is Sri Lanka’s largest manufacturer and exporter of aluminium extrusion profiles, processed fruits and vegetables, hybrid flower seeds, tissue culture plants and fabric, with long-standing relationships with Fortune 500 companies and leading multinationals across Europe, North America, Asia and beyond. Through its transportation and logistics businesses, Hayleys also maintains a growing regional presence, connecting businesses and supply chains across key markets in South Asia and beyond.

The Group also recently expanded into retail, is scaling its export-oriented verticals, and is actively investing in renewable energy — three strategic priorities designed to accelerate growth, and enhance returns, stability of cash flows and long-term shareholder wealth.