Bata posts 16 times higher profit in Apr-Jun as Covid restrictions go
In April-June this year, Bata Shoe Company’s revenue grew by 45% to Tk313.57 crore
Bata Shoe Company (Bangladesh) Limited posted 16 times higher profit year-on-year in the April-June quarter of this year, due to good business during the Eid seasons.
During the period, the company earned a net profit of Tk26.54 crore, up from Tk1.56 crore a year ago.
A senior official of the company on condition of anonymity told The Business Standard even though shoemakers could not do business during Eid festivals – which contribute to a big chunk of their annual sales – in the past two years because of the pandemic–induced restrictions, they have witnessed a decent turnover this time around as there are no such restrictions.
In April-June this year, Bata's revenue grew by 45% to Tk313.57 crore from Tk217 crore during the same period a year ago.
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At the end of the first half of this year, the company's total revenue stood at Tk528.13 crore and net profit at Tk33.39 crore.
Its earnings per share (EPS) was Tk19.41 for the second quarter of this year and Tk24.41 for the first half.
The multinational shoe company, for the first time in its six-decade history in Bangladesh, faced drastic losses in 2020 when its annual sales dropped by 41% due to a nationwide shutdown and a prolonged homestay of the masses.
Again in 2021, recurring Covid-19 waves ate into the company's major sales as the two Eid festivals that contribute to more than one-third of Bata's annual sales were lost to lockdowns.
Also, a prolonged school closure deprived the school shoe champion of sales.
Meanwhile, Bata had paid 25% final cash dividends for 2021 while it had already disbursed 75% interim cash dividends for the year.
For the year, Bata shareholders in Bangladesh are getting Tk10 cash as dividends against each share having a face value of Tk10.
At the end of June this year, Bata's net asset value per share stood at Tk274.24, while its shares closed 0.85% lower at Tk923.50 on Thursday on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.
Bata has been serving the Bangladesh market since 1962 and the very company Bata Shoe Bangladesh was incorporated in 1972 following the independence of the country.
It is one of the operating companies of the worldwide Bata Shoe Organisation (BSO) and a subsidiary of Bafin (Nederland) BV in the Netherlands holding 70% of the company's shares.
