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Capital Alliance Holdings PLC: research report

UndervaluedbearishSep 2, 2026

CALH swung to a LKR 2.27 billion June-quarter loss from profit a year earlier. The share is down 30.6% over one year, while reported operating margin rose sharply on negative revenue.

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Why bearish

  • The June 2026 quarter moved to a LKR 2.27 billion net loss, a LKR 4.06 billion year-on-year reversal.
  • Revenue fell 142.7% year-on-year to a negative LKR 1.37 billion in the June quarter.
  • Annual debt stood at LKR 77.9 billion, equal to 391.0% of equity attributable to owners.

Against this. Reported operating margin rose 73.8 percentage points year-on-year in the June quarter.

Operating margin
151.4%sector 40.4%
from 77.6% a year earlier
Net margin
165.5%sector 17.8%
from 55.6% a year earlier, revenue -142.7%
Return on equity
12.1%sector 13.0%
full year to Mar 31, 2026
P/E
10.3sector 6.9
earnings Rs 1.18 per share
P/B
1.37sector 0.94
book Rs 8.87 per share
Dividend yield
8.20%sector 2.16%
84.7% of earnings paid out

Current figures, updated daily from filings to Jun 30, 2026. The report below was written on Sep 2, 2026. Sector figures are the median of 54 listed companies in the same sector.

Overview

Capital Alliance Holdings provides primary-dealing, stockbroking, asset-management and corporate-finance services. Its latest quarter marked a sharp move from profit to loss, led by negative reported revenue and an operating loss, making the June result the central change in the investment case.

Price performance

CALH underperformed the ASPI across the reported medium-term windows: the share fell 10.7% over three months against a 4.2% ASPI decline, and fell 30.6% over one year while the index gained 3.0%. The closing price was LKR 13.40 on 2 September 2026.

The share traded 4.8% of the way up its 52-week range, close to its annual low. Recent volatility and trading volume were both below the company's own longer-term norms; the data contains no company news in the past 30 days that accounts for the three-month decline.

Valuation

A P/E is unavailable because trailing EPS is negative. CALH traded at 1.51 times book value, placing it at the 71st percentile of 53 banks and finance peers, while the latest audited annual ROE was 12.1% for the year ended March 2026.

The 7.5% dividend yield was at the 85th percentile among peers with reported yields. The latest confirmed dividend was LKR 1.00 per share, but the dataset provides no multi-year dividend history, so the direction and repeatability of the payout cannot be assessed.

News and sentiment

Direct company coverage is thin: there was one material article in the 90 days to 2 September 2026, classified positive, concerning a rating review on 5 June. There were no negative or neutral material articles in that window.

The latest confirmed corporate action was a LKR 1.00 dividend that went ex on 14 October 2025 and was paid on 3 November 2025.

Financials

The June 2026 quarter shifted abruptly into loss. Revenue fell 142.7% year-on-year to negative LKR 1.37 billion from positive LKR 3.21 billion, while operating profit fell into a loss by LKR 4.57 billion and net profit fell into a loss by LKR 4.06 billion.

Gross margin was not disclosed. Reported operating margin was 151.4% versus 77.6% a year earlier, while net margin was 165.5% versus 55.6%. These unusually high percentages result from a negative revenue denominator and should not be read as improved underlying profitability.

Total equity was LKR 20.12 billion versus LKR 23.97 billion a year earlier. Shares outstanding were unchanged year-on-year at 2.07 billion, so the loss per share was not mechanically affected by a share-count change. The below-the-line drag narrowed to LKR 194 million from LKR 706 million, but that was insufficient to offset the operating reversal.

Risks

The primary risk is the funding and earnings burden associated with a highly geared balance sheet. At March 2026, total debt was LKR 77.9 billion, equivalent to 391.0% of equity attributable to owners, although both were lower than the prior year's LKR 86.4 billion debt and 478.2% gearing.

Interest cover was not disclosed for March 2026. As a finance group, current-ratio and cash-conversion measures are not meaningful in the same way as for non-financial companies. Minority interests received 10.3% of the latest audited annual profit, so group profit is not wholly attributable to CALH shareholders.

The sector backdrop also points to higher compliance and enforcement demands for financial institutions, while domestic inflation had risen to 8.0% by August 2026. These are operating-environment risks rather than company-specific events.

Outlook

As at 2 September 2026, the next scheduled event is the filing for the quarter ending 30 September 2026, expected between 12 November 2026 and 2 March 2027. That filing will determine whether the June loss and negative revenue were isolated or extended into the next reporting period.

Falling government bill and bond yields are relevant to the market environment in which CALH's primary-dealing and treasury activities operate, but the available data cannot establish the effect on this company. It also does not explain the cause of the June revenue reversal or provide detail on the outcome of the June rating review.

About this report. Generated on Sep 2, 2026 from market data up to Sep 2, 2026, 1 material news articles over 90 days and financials to Jun 30, 2026. Every figure is drawn from EquityLK's own data on this company. AI research can contain errors, so treat it as a starting point, not investment advice.

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