hSenid plans 3.6 mn employee share incentive programme

hSenid Business Solutions PLC announced it has proposed a new Employee Share Option Plan (ESOP) to utilise more than 3.6 million shares that remained ungranted under its previous employee share ownership scheme. 

In a disclosure to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), the company said its Board of Directors had decided to establish and implement a new ESOP that would grant selected employees of the company and its subsidiaries the right to subscribe for 3.62 million ordinary shares that were allocated but not issued under the earlier scheme. 

hSenid first established an employee share option plan following shareholder approval at an Extraordinary General Meeting held in December 2022. The scheme was designed to grant share options to employees of the company and its subsidiaries, including individuals engaged on fixed-term contracts, covering up to 10 million shares. 

The company noted that the total number of shares available under the original scheme was subsequently increased to 10.31 million shares following a 2024 scrip dividend issue, which expanded the company’s issued share capital. The adjustment was made in consultation with the company’s auditors and in accordance with the terms of the approved scheme. 

According to the disclosure, options covering 6.69 million shares were ultimately granted to eligible employees during the period from April 1, 2023 to December 6, 2025. As a result, 3.62 million shares remained unallocated under the scheme. 

The proposed new ESOP seeks to reallocate these remaining shares to employees selected by the Board on the recommendation of a committee appointed for that purpose. The company said all beneficiaries would fall within the definition of “employee” stipulated under the CSE Listing Rules. 

If all options granted under the proposed ESOP are exercised in full, hSenid will issue 3.62 million new ordinary shares, representing approximately 1.22 percent of the company’s enlarged issued share capital. 

The company said the implementation of the new scheme is subject to obtaining in-principle approval from the CSE for the issue and listing of the shares, as well as shareholder approval by way of a special resolution at a general meeting. 

As of the date of the announcement, hSenid’s stated capital stood at Rs. 1.03 billion, while the company had 285.34 million issued shares in circulation. 

Employee share ownership plans are commonly used by listed companies to align employee interests with shareholder value creation and to strengthen staff retention through equity-based incentives.