The stock market regulator has formed a three-member committee to investigate the financial statements of Bay Leasing & Investment for the year ended on December 31, 2021 as the company reported a loss for the first time.
The three-member committee, led by M Kawsar Ali, additional director of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), has been asked to submit the probe report within 20 working days, according to a BSEC statement issued on Thursday.
Two other members of the committee are Kazi AL Islam, deputy director of the BSEC, and Md Atikur Rahman, assistant director of the BSEC.
The enquiry committee will look into the non-bank financial institution's nine-month unaudited financial statements and 12-month audited financial statements for the year ended on December 31, 2021 to see whether there have been any irregularities.
BSEC spokesman Mohammad Rezaul Karim confirmed the matter, saying, "We want to investigate the NBFI's recent financial performance and dividend declaration for the year ended on December 31, 2021".
"If there are any irregularities, we will take action as per securities rules," he added.
Last week, Bay Leasing & Investment reported consolidated earnings per share (EPS) of Tk 0.99 in the negative for the year ended on December 31, 2021 as against a profit of Tk 1.14 per share in 2020.
"The consolidated EPS decreased due to a drastic fall in the profit after tax, driven by an increase of provision by 1,343.01 per cent although operational income went up by 68.36 per cent," said the company.
"Total provision has been kept against lease/loans and investment in share of Tk 977.20 million," the company said in its disclosure.
The consolidated net asset value per share was Tk 17.82 for the year that ended on December 31, 2021, down from Tk 19.80 in 2020.
The consolidated net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) stood at Tk 0.48 in the negative in 2021, as against Tk 5.94 in 2020, registering a decline of 91.12 per cent year on year due to poor recovery from lease/loans and encashment of bank deposits or treasury placements, according to the filing.
Despite the losses, the board of the company has recommended a 5.0 per cent stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2021.
Listed in 2009, the company disbursed a 10 per cent cash dividend in 2020. In 2019, the company provided 7.50 per cent cash and 2.50 per cent stock dividend.
The company's share closed at Tk 23.90 on Thursday, remaining unchanged over the previous day.
The company's authorised capital is Tk 3.0 billion and paid-up capital is Tk 1.40 billion while total number of securities is 140.89 million.
Sponsor-directors own 30.07 per cent stake in the company while institutional investors 21.42 per cent, foreign investors 0.15 per cent and the general public 48.36 per cent as on August 31, 2022, the DSE data showed.
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