ACI Limited, one of the leading conglomerates in Bangladesh, has posted a marginal drop in profit in the three months through December 2022, caused by an increase in costs due to currency devaluation and energy price hike.
A sharp depreciation of the local currency against the dollar fuelled import costs, which adversely affected overall profitability, the company said in a filing with the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on Tuesday.
The company's consolidated profit declined 1.97 per cent year-on-year to Tk 149 million in the three months through December 2022.
The conglomerate said its consolidated EPS was Tk 1.96 for October-December, FY23 against Tk 2 for the same quarter a year earlier.
ACI's net finance cost jumped almost 31 per cent year-on-year to Tk 1.24 billion in the quarter ended in December 2022, according to its un-audited financial statement.
The profit after tax dropped due to the fall of the taka against the US dollar and an increase in interest rate, according to the financial statements.
The taka has lost its value by about 25 per cent against the greenback in the past one year. The currency devaluation was about 14 per cent in July-December 2022.
However, the company had achieved a significant growth in revenue during the period, thanks to higher sales in certain segments.
ACI's revenue from flour, animal health, consumer brands and seed segments rose while its turnover from the pharmaceutical segment dropped marginally.
As a result, sales revenue rose about 25 per cent year-on-year to Tk 30.28 billion in October-December 2022. At the same time, costs of sales soared 29 per cent to Tk 23.23 billion.
ACI spent 70 per cent of its revenue on the cost of goods sold during the October-December period while it was 66 per cent during the corresponding period of the previous year.
The stock has remained stuck at the floor price of Tk 260.20 since November 22 last year.
Despite profit in Q2, FY23, the ACI suffered a loss of Tk 136 million in the six months through December 2022 as the company incurred a consolidated loss of more than Tk 300 million in the first quarter ended in September 2022.
The company reported a loss of Tk 1.79 per share in July-December 2022, whereas it had gained a profit of Tk 5.25 per share in the same period last year.
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