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CT Land Development Plc: research report

Fairly valuedbearishAug 15, 2026

CT Land's latest quarter returned to a deep loss, with net margin at -83.7%. The tension is a profitable audited year, but weak recurring operations and cash generation remain unresolved.

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Why bearish

  • The June quarter's net loss widened by LKR 79 million year-on-year, while its net margin was -83.7%.
  • Annual operating cash conversion was -0.42x, showing that reported profit did not arrive as cash.
  • Debt rose to LKR 1.97 billion and gearing reached 35.6% of owners' equity.

Against this. The audited year ended March 2026 recorded net profit growth of 251.2%, while the stock trades at only 0.59x book value, in the 7th sector percentile.

Operating margin
-42.3%sector 13.6%
from -14.9% a year earlier
Net margin
-92.1%sector 10.9%
from -17.2% a year earlier, revenue +15.9%
Return on equity
12.4%sector 9.5%
full year to Mar 31, 2026
P/E
21.6sector 10.2
earnings Rs 1.71 per share
P/B
0.55sector 1.09
book Rs 67.01 per share
Dividend yield
0.00%sector 2.39%
trailing twelve months

Current figures, updated daily from filings to Jun 30, 2026. The report below was written on Aug 15, 2026. Sector figures are the median of 32 listed companies in the same sector.

Overview

CT Land Development owns and manages commercial property, centred on the Majestic City shopping complex in Colombo. The latest quarter showed a sharp deterioration in operating performance: revenue increased, but the company moved further into operating and net losses. Stable occupancy around 70% and refurbishment activity provide an operating base, but the current results do not yet show that this base is translating into dependable earnings.

Price performance

The share closed at LKR 39.80 on 14 August 2026. It gained 22.8% over one year, outperforming the ASPI's 9.3%, but fell 8.7% over three months while the index declined 5.6% over the same period. The stock sits at 61.0% of its 52-week range, 12.1% below its high and 27.6% above its low.

Recent trading has been quieter than the company's own longer-term norm: 60-day annualised volatility was 56.3%, 1.2 percentage points below its one-year measure, while 20-day average volume was 47.3% below the 60-day average. The price data shows no company-specific news flow that accounts for the recent three-month decline.

Valuation

CT Land trades at 14.9x earnings, placing it at the 83rd percentile of 25 sector peers and making the earnings multiple relatively high against the property-construction group median of 10.5x. Its 0.59x P/B is the opposite signal, sitting at the 7th percentile against all 31 peers, while return on equity for the audited year was 12.4%.

No current dividend yield is recorded. The supplied history shows dividends per share of LKR 1.75 in FY2020 versus LKR 1.25 in FY2019, with no later years appearing in the record, so the low P/B is not supported by a recent, established income stream.

News and sentiment

Direct coverage is thin: there were no material articles in the 90-day window and no positive, negative or neutral articles in the sentiment count. The only recorded company notice was a neutral director-status change dated 14 May 2026.

No confirmed or announced corporate actions are recorded.

Financials

In the quarter ended June 2026, revenue rose 15.9% year-on-year to LKR 102 million, but the operating loss widened by LKR 30 million and the net loss widened by LKR 79 million. Operating margin deteriorated from -14.9% to -38.4% on total income, while net margin moved from -17.2% to -83.7%. Gross margin was not reported for either period. The latest operating margin was the worst of the company's three comparable June quarters, and net margin was the worst of its seven comparable company-basis quarters.

The company earns materially outside its revenue line: total income was LKR 112 million, including LKR 10 million of other operating income, so total-income margins are the relevant measures. Finance costs and other below-the-line items reduced operating profit by LKR 51 million in the latest quarter. The audited year ended March 2026 was profitable, with revenue down 46.0% and net profit up 251.2%, but those figures predate the weaker June quarter. Owners' equity was LKR 5.44 billion and the share count remained 81.25 million, with no minority profit reported.

Risks

Cash generation is the most immediate financial risk. For the audited year ended March 2026, operating cash conversion was -0.42x and free cash flow was negative LKR 531 million, so the reported profit was not backed by operating cash.

Funding pressure has also increased: total debt was LKR 1.97 billion, equal to 35.6% of owners' equity, compared with 9.7% a year earlier. The current ratio was 0.81, indicating that current liabilities exceeded current assets, although interest cover was a strong 53.72x. The latest quarter's LKR 51 million finance-cost burden further matters because operating profit was already negative.

The company is also exposed to the performance of its commercial property portfolio and the execution of Majestic City's refurbishment. Broader construction conditions were firmer, with the sector PMI at 60 in June 2026, but reported shortages of skilled workers, bitumen and other materials remain a relevant operating backdrop rather than evidence of a company-specific benefit.

Outlook

The next company-specific event is the filing for the quarter ending 30 September 2026. As at 15 August 2026, the exchange-based timing range is 7 November 2026 to 7 January 2027; that filing will determine whether the June loss was temporary or part of a continuing operating weakness.

Lower Sri Lankan interest rates and ample liquidity form a more supportive financing backdrop as at 15 August 2026, but the data cannot establish that this has improved CT Land's earnings or cash flow. The next filing is therefore more important than the market backdrop: it should clarify whether rental and property operations are recovering without relying on other income or below-the-line items.

About this report. Generated on Aug 15, 2026 from market data up to Aug 14, 2026, 0 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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