As Sri Lanka emerges from a volatile economic cycle and enters a period of relative stability, investors are rethinking what durable growth looks like. For diversified groups like Sunshine Holdings, the question is no longer about recovery or short-term performance, but about how businesses compound value through uncertainty, shifting consumer behaviour, and structural change. Over the past decade, Sunshine has steadily built a platform anchored in defensive sectors, disciplined capital allocation, and long-term resilience. That approach now shapes how the group views the next investment cycle and its role within it. These themes sit at the centre of a conversation with Hiran Samarasinghe, Chief Growth Officer at Sunshine Holdings.
As Sri Lanka enters a new investment cycle, how do you define meaningful growth at Sunshine Holdings; beyond scale and short-term performance?
If you look at our ten-year trajectory, the pattern is clear. For much of that period, we grew steadily, but over the past five years, growth has accelerated. That shift came from strategic execution, even in uncertain periods, which now form the base we are building on. Those experiences shaped how we define meaningful growth as we focus on resilient sectors. Healthcare and tea are clear examples where demand holds even when conditions tighten, and that stability matters to us.
As Sri Lanka enters a new investment cycle, we are starting from a position of strength rather than recovery. The interest rate environment has also shifted. With rates around 7–8%, debt capital has become affordable. Sunshine has always been conservative with leverage, which now gives us ample headroom to fund growth prudently without diluting shareholders. These decisions guide how we look at new investments.
For example, in healthcare, after the acquisition of a local respiratory drug manufacturer in 2021, we now operate across the value chain. In consumer goods, the thinking is similar. Our tea already reaches more than half of Sri Lankan households, so growth now comes from exports and adjacent everyday categories. For us, meaningful growth comes from strategic clarity, disciplined execution, and consistency through uncertainty.
Looking across Sunshine’s portfolio, where do you see the strongest long-term value for investors, and how is that shaping today’s capital allocation decisions?
Across the portfolio of businesses, long-term value plays different roles. Agribusiness, particularly palm oil, pro- vides stability. With restrictions on new planting, growth is limited, but it remains a steady cash-generating base depending on our joint-venture exposure. That foundation allows us to take a longer view elsewhere. The stronger growth engines are healthcare and consumer goods. In consumer goods, especially FMCG, the domestic market has limits, so we expect growth and value creation to increasingly come from other markets. We have already executed this in tea and are now extending that approach to markets such as China, Africa and the US. Healthcare follows a similar long-term logic, but remains largely inward-looking. The focus is on deepening local pharmaceutical manufacturing and strengthening the value chain. Capital allocation flows from this balance, using stable cash flows to back scalable, higher-quality growth.
Investors are paying closer attention to governance, sustainability, and resilience. How are these factors influencing Sunshine’s growth strategy?
Governance plays a central role in how we grow. As a listed company, we operate with a strong board structure and a dedicated investment committee, made up of directors with deep experience in consumer and healthcare. Every investment thesis goes through that forum. There is pushback, tough questions, and detailed scrutiny. That process is healthy. Over time, this discipline has helped us reduce risk and strengthens capital allocation.
Sustainability, for us, goes far beyond CSR or climate initiatives. It is about running a viable business over the next 10, 20, or 50 years for all stakeholders. That includes shareholders as well as 2,600 employees, customers, partners, and com- munities. Some choices may affect margins in the short term, but they support long-term continuity. One example is investing in R&D and upgrading our distribution infrastructure to address how rising temperatures affect our people, products, and supply chains. These efforts, in turn, help keep the business resilient over time.
With consumer behaviours and technology evolving, what key shifts should investors watch as Sunshine’s growth story unfolds over the next few years?
On the consumer side, the last few years have been difficult. COVID, the economic crisis, and currency depreciation sharply reduced spending power. While topline growth is returning, the recovery has been uneven. Higher-income groups are rebounding faster, while the lower end is lagging. For consumption to recover meaningfully, growth needs to be broad-based, which will support everyday consumption rather than concentrated wealth. Sunshine with our mass market brands are well positioned to benefit from the growth.
Demographics are another key shift. Sri Lanka has an ageing population, driven by strong healthcare outcomes and longer life expectancy. That creates sustained demand for chronic care, medication, and diagnostics, where our healthcare businesses are well positioned. On the workforce side, migration has created talent gaps, especially in middle management. Simply raising salaries is not sustainable. Instead, we are investing in technology as a productivity tool. Since 2019, we have upgraded systems, applied AI selectively, and focused on efficiency to somewhat offset talent constraints and support long-term growth.
For investors reassessing their portfolios in 2026, what is Sunshine Holdings’ core investment proposition—and how does it fit into Sri Lanka’s broader economic outlook?
Sunshine Holdings is starting from a position of strength. With a more stable macro environment expected over the next three to five years, we are focused on compounding from this base rather than recovering lost ground. The core drivers of that growth are healthcare and consumer, and most of our capital allocation will continue to flow into these two pillars. For investors, the holding company structure also provides balance. When one sector faces pressure, others help cushion performance. That diversification reduces risk and supports more stable profits and dividends across cycles. Furthermore, with the recent inclusion in the S&P top 20 index, Sunshine Holdings will be an essential component in any investor portfolio aiming to track index performance.