Navana Pharma gets BSEC approval for IPO to raise Tk75cr
The cut-off price of the shares will be determined by the book building method, and general investors will get a 30% discount on the cut-off price
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) on Wednesday allowed Navana Pharmaceuticals Limited to raise Tk75 crore from the stock market through an initial public offering (IPO).
The cut-off price of the shares will be determined by the book building method, and general investors will get a 30% discount on the cut-off price.
Of the funds, the drugmaker plans to use Tk23.24 crore for a new general production building, Tk9.73 crore for a new utility and engineering building, Tk17.85 crore for refurbishing the cephalosporin unit, Tk21.18 crore for loan repayment, and the rest for meeting IPO expenses.
Md Abu Hurayra, the company's chief financial officer, said in the IPO road show, "Navana Pharma is raising funds from the capital market because of growing demand. Now we are contract-manufacturing for other companies to meet demand."
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"If we can complete a new project, capacity will almost double," he added.
UCB Investment Ltd, Asian Tiger Capital Partners Investment Ltd, and EBL Investments Ltd are the issue managers, while AFC Capital Limited is the registrar of Navana Pharma's IPO.
Company information
Navana Pharmaceuticals was established in 1986 under the Islam Group with a factory in Rupganj, Narayanganj.
It has both veterinary and human health divisions.
Back in 2020, Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Professor Dr Jonaid Shafiq, Imrana Zaman Chowdhury, Masuma Parvin, Dr Zahara Rasul, Javed Kaiser Ally, Tarana Ahmed, and Dr Sayeed Ahmed, held the sponsor shares of the company.
Now, Anisuzzaman Chowdhury and Professor Dr Jonaid Shafiq, who are also directors of United Commercial Bank, are the chairman and managing director of Navana Pharma, respectively.
Also, Islam Group's Chairman Manzurul Islam holds 3% of Navana Pharma shares.
Financials
At the end of the first nine months of fiscal 2021-22, Navana Pharma's revenue increased by 38% to Tk366.64 crore, and net profits by 45% to Tk19.18 crore, compared to the same period in the previous fiscal.
At the end of March, its total liabilities stood at Tk31 crore and short-term loans at Tk277 crore.
According to its audited annual report for fiscal 2020-21, its net profit stood at Tk20.23 crore, up from Tk13.74 crore in the previous fiscal year.
Revenues stood at Tk360.66 crore, which was Tk314.90 crore a year ago.
Industry insights
According to IQVIA, an American multinational company serving the pharma industry, the pharmaceutical market in Bangladesh surpassed Tk30,000 crore in 2021 with an annual growth of more than 10%.
Bangladeshi drugmakers also export medicines worth around Tk1,500 crore per year. The top ten companies in the country sell about 71% of the country's total medicines.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau, the export revenue from drug exports in fiscal year 2020-21 was Tk1,433 crore.
