Beximco Pharma set to publish 15-month overdue financials as regulator allows special board meeting 

The long period of stagnation that kept investors in the dark about Beximco Pharmaceuticals has finally eased.

Infographics: TBS

The regulator has permitted the Beximco Group concern to hold a special board meeting to approve and publish its five overdue quarterly financial statements, mitigating the looming risk of a delisting from the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The pharmaceutical firm will hold a board of directors meeting on 23 June at 3 pm, according to a disclosure published yesterday.

The trading of Beximco Pharma remained temporarily suspended on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) from 2 January 2026, as it failed to publish its annual financial results within the stipulated timeframe.

According to rules, companies face potential delisting if they fail to publish their annual financial statements within six months of the fiscal year-end. 

Consequently, after its fiscal year ended in June 2025, Beximco failed to publish its annual corporate disclosures, leaving investors in the dark after having only released its half-yearly financials for FY25.

Compounding the issue, the company has also failed to publish its nine-month financial statements for the current fiscal year ending in March.

Amid rising concerns raised by foreign institutional investors to the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), the regulator has permitted Beximco Pharmaceuticals to hold a board of directors meeting. 

The decision followed a meeting between commission officials and Beximco executives.

According to a BSEC letter, the company is now authorised to approve and publish the financial statements of Beximco Pharma and its subsidiaries, including the third-quarter and annual financials for FY25, as well as the three quarterly reports for the current fiscal year up to March 2026.

Following the ousting of the Awami League-led government in August 2024, Salman F Rahman, the Vice Chairman of Beximco Pharmaceuticals – one of the country's leading drug manufacturers – was arrested in connection with several cases.

Later, amidst leadership changes at the regulatory body during the interim government, the BSEC appointed nine independent directors to the board of Beximco Pharma, as well as to two other listed group entities: Beximco Ltd and Shinepukur Ceramics.

Beximco Pharma legally challenged the regulator's decision by filing a writ petition, which remains pending in court. Citing the matter as sub-judice, the company has not allowed the BSEC-appointed independent directors to take their seats on the board.

An official at Beximco Group, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told The Business Standard, "We have been allowed to hold a special meeting solely to publish our financial statements. All of our directors are available, with the exception of Salman F Rahman, who served as the private industry and investment adviser to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina."

"The government is trying to attract foreign investors to the country. If this approval had not been granted, the company faced a potential risk of being delisted from the London Stock Exchange, which would have severely dragged down investor confidence," he added. 

BSEC spokesman Abul Kalam told TBS, considering the country's image, foreign investors, and the overall interests of general investors, permission has been granted to hold the board meeting."

"The government is placing high emphasis on increasing foreign investment. Beximco Pharmaceuticals, a Bangladeshi company listed on the London Stock Exchange, has foreign investment. If Beximco faces complications regarding the publication of its financial reports, it could damage investor confidence. Ultimately, this decision has been taken to protect the interests of the investors.

'Beximco is a good company'

Abul Kalam said, "Beximco is a fundamentally strong company with a track record of providing good dividends. In the interest of investors, regular financial disclosures should be published."

"However, this has not been done for some time. Once the annual financial accounts are published, investors will receive their dividends and will also be able to assess the actual financial health of the company.

Therefore, the Commission has granted permission to adopt the financial accounts at this Board of directors meeting. The Commission has made this decision keeping the country's image, as well as the interests of domestic and foreign investors, in mind, he added. 

Beximco's last H1 financials

According to its published data that was unveiled in January 2025, Beximco Pharmaceuticals' profit grew 18% year-on-year to Tk353 crore in the first half of 2024-25 while its revenue surged 9% to Tk2,401 crore. 

In the October-December quarter, the drugmaker's revenue rose 13% to Tk1,230 crore, while profit grew 28% to Tk184 crore.

Iqbal Ahmed, managing director of Beximco Pharma, commented on the filing on the London Stock Exchange, saying, "We are pleased to announce our second-quarter and half-year results, demonstrating strong, profitable growth despite ongoing macroeconomic challenges." 

"We have launched new products domestically and expanded our international presence through new product registrations and entry into new export markets. We look forward to sustaining this momentum in the second half of the fiscal year while continuing to provide essential medicines to patients worldwide," he added.