Watawala Plantations honours top performers of 2016 at ‘WATA Night of the Oscars’

Shining the spotlight on its high performers, Watawala Plantations PLC – a subsidiary of Sunshine Holdings PLC – recognized their employees who demonstrated exceptional performance in 2016 at a gala awards ceremony held at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo. Titled ‘WATA Night of the oscars 2016’, the inaugural awards ceremony by the diversified plantation company was graced by Watawala Plantations PLC Chairman, Sunil Wijesinghe, Sunshine Holdings Group Managing Director, Vish Govindasamy, key members of the Sunshine Group’s management team, distinguished guests and family members of Watawala Plantation’s employees. Watawala Plantations surpassed the billion rupee profit milestone last year for the very first time in their 25 year history. The company has been able to consistently record strong growth in revenue, both in its tea and palm oil sectors, due to a change in the strategic management of the Company to place a stronger focus on quality over quantity. Congratulating the winners, Vish Govindasamy, Group Managing Director of Sunshine Holdings said: “It is indeed a great time to celebrate your performance, loyalty and commitment as Sri Lanka itself celebrates 150 years of Ceylon Tea and very fittingly, Sunshine Holdings celebrates its 50^th anniversary.  In that regard, it is a true honour to be surrounded by people who have inspired and mentored me to lead such an extraordinary team through the years in our journey to make the Watawala Plantations the number one regional plantation company to be listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange. I salute all of you for all your hard work and dedication and I look forward to working with all of you in future to take our Company to even greater heights.” Binesh Pananwala, Chief Executive Officer at Watawala Plantations PLC said,” Today, we recognize, celebrate and reward our achievers from Watawala Plantations who have shown their true mettle during the year 2016. The last year brought fresh challenges for our industry and it was through the smart execution of comprehensively developed business strategies that our Company has been able to not only persevere but thrive. Such an outcome could only be made possible through the dedicated efforts of our employees and we express our sincere gratitude and heartfelt congratulations to them for another exceptional performance.” A total of 69 awards – four academic achievement awards, 12 compliance awards, 24 long service awards and 29 performance awards – were distributed among winners at the WATA Night of the oscars 2016. Ajith Prasanna Premamchandra of Carolina Estate was adjudged the Up Country Estate Manager of the Year while Danushka Daswatte of Nakiadeniya Rubber Estate was adjudged the Low Country Estate Manager of the Year. The best performing region of 2016 was Udugama region. Employees who have served Watawala Plantations for 10 to 25 years were presented with a coveted Long Service Medal. About Watawala Plantations PLC: Watawala Plantations PLC (WATA) is a diversified Agri products company with interests in Tea, Oil Palm and Cinnamon. The company is a JV of Sunshine Holdings PLC with TATA Global Beverages, the second largest branded tea company in the world, and Pyramid Wilmar Plantations Ltd. Watawala Plantations has been Sri Lanka’s largest producer of palm oil for several consecutive years. Watawala teas are world renowned for their quality and are Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade certified. The company has recently diversified into the Dairy sector with a JV with Duxton Asset Management, Singapore. About Sunshine Holdings PLC: Sunshine Holdings PLC is a diversified conglomerate with interests in Healthcare, Plantations, FMCG, Packaging and Renewable Energy. The Group with revenue exceeding US $120 Million is listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange.  Beginning with the healthcare business in 1967, the group has built strong businesses over the last five decades, including partnering with the Tata Group in 1992 to form a joint venture in Plantations. Group companies include Sunshine Healthcare Lanka, Watawala Plantations PLC, Watawala Tea Ceylon Ltd, Sunshine Packaging and Sunshine Energy. Photo caption: (Above) Vish Govindasamy, Group Managing Director of Sunshine Holdings addressing the audience (left) and Binesh Pananwala, Chief Executive Officer at Watawala Plantations PLC delivering the welcome address