The earnings of most of the listed cement companies rose in July-September quarter 2018 compared to the same quarter in the previous year.
Of the seven cement companies listed with Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), four made healthy earnings per share (EPS) compared to that in the same period last year.
Two reported negative earnings while one remained unchanged.
EPS is the portion of a company's profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock, meaning it is an indicator of the company's profitability.
According to the un-audited financial statements for the July-September quarter, 2018, the EPS of Premier Cement, Meghna Cement, Heidelberg Cement and Confidence Cement rose up to 149 per cent.
Lafarge-Holcim Bangladesh posted negative earnings per share in the July-September quarter of 2018 while loss incurred by Aramit Cement increased in July-September, 2018.
Premier Cement's consolidated EPS stood at Tk 1.02 for July-September, 2018, soaring nearly 149 per cent over the same period last year. Its consolidated EPS was Tk 0.41 for July-September, 2017.
The Meghna Cement's EPS rose to Tk 0.49 for July-September, 2018 as against Tk 0.22 for July-September, 2017, registering an increase of 123 per cent during the period under review.
Heidelberg Cement's consolidated EPS was Tk 2.14 for July-September 2018 as against Tk 1.72 for July-September 2017.
However, the multinational company's consolidated EPS fell to Tk 11.69 for January-September 2018 as against Tk 14.43 for January-September 2017.
The consolidated NAV per share was Tk 79.86 as on September 30, 2018 and Tk 83.39 as on September 30, 2017.
The consolidated net Net Operating Cash Flow per Share (NOCFPS) was Tk 9.29 for January-September 2018 as against Tk 5.34 for January-September 2017.
The company informed that for the period January to September 2018 compare with the same period of last year 2017, NAV per share reduced due to charging of regular depreciation, said the company.
The multinational company noted that EPS declined by Tk 2.74 in nine months due to higher cost of goods sold. The NOCFPS increased by Tk 3.95 mainly for more sales collection and less tax payment.
Confidence Cement's EPS also increased more than 21 per cent to Tk 1.81 for July-September, 2018, from the same period's EPS of Tk 1.49 for July-September, 2017.
MI Cement's EPS remained unchanged for July-September 2018 and stood at Tk 0.47 against Tk 0.47 for July-September 2017.
The LafargeHolcim Bangladesh's consolidated EPS was Tk 0.03 in the negative for July-September, 2018 as against Tk 0.18 for July-September, 2017.
Aramit Cement's earnings per share stood at Tk 2.11 in the negative for July-September, 2018 as against Tk 1.73 in the negative for the same period a year ago.
Although as many as 76 cement manufacturing companies have been established in Bangladesh, some 45 large and small-scale companies are producing cement, industry insiders said.
In 2017, the active plants' effective capacity stood at about 50.20 million tonnes. According to market forecast, total cement production capacity will reach 80 million tonnes by 2019.
