Linde to declare dividend on 12 March
Its shares were traded on the floor price at Tk1,397 each on Sunday at the DSE
Linde Bangladesh Ltd has fixed 12 March for the company's next board meeting to publish the audited financial report for 2022 and declare dividends.
Earlier, it had paid a 550% cash dividend to its shareholders for 2021.
In the first nine months of 2022, its profit has dropped by 17.88% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, the company said in a stock exchange disclosure.
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Due to forex market volatility, diesel price hikes, and power disruptions, the company saw a 9.48% increase in its production cost. As a result, the profit dropped to Tk74.23 crore in the January to September period, from Tk90.41 crore a year ago.
The earnings per share (EPS) declined to Tk48.78, from Tk59.41 in the January-September period of 2021.
Md Anisuzzaman, chief financial officer (CFO) of Linde Bangladesh, earlier told The Business Standard that the company's growth is good even during the economic slowdown.
"Due to volatility in the foreign exchange market, the company's profit has decreased. The dollar rate has exceeded Tk100 from Tk84 in the import of raw materials. As a result, the profit margin has decreased because of an increase in the costs," he added.
Linde Bangladesh CFO said because of the Covid pandemic, the demand for medical oxygen in hospitals increased drastically last year when Linde Bangladesh did good business in its medical oxygen segment.
But the company's revenue from this segment declined due to lower demand for medical oxygen following the improvement in the Covid situation.
As a result, among the three revenue segments of the company, the industrial gas and hard goods segments have seen good growth in the business, he added.
"Forex market volatility coupled with diesel prices and power disruptions have increased costs for the company. As the cost of importing raw materials has increased, the cost of distribution of products has also increased," Md Anisuzzaman added.
In the July to September quarter of 2022, its revenue declined by 1.51% to Tk120.61 crore, and profit fell by 23.09% to Tk21.05 crore.
In the same quarter of the previous year, its revenue stood at Tk122.47 crore, and profit at Tk27.37 crore.
Linde Bangladesh got listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) in 1976 under the fuel and power sector when the stock market resumed trading after independence.
Its shares were traded on the floor price at Tk1,397 each on Sunday at the DSE.
