Olympic Industries to boost annual cookie production by 9,048 tonnes

Olympic Industries, a leading name in the country's confectionery and biscuit sector, has planned to nearly double its cookie production capacity through fresh investment, driven by increasing consumer demand.

Publicly traded Olympic Industries plans to purchase and import a brand-new multi-colour cookie production line with standard accessories from China, with an annual capacity of 9,048 tonnes.

To implement the plan, the company will invest $10.81 lakh, equivalent to Tk13.19 crore, as per a management decision made on 21 May.

The machinery will be procured from Zhongshan Dingson Food Machinery, based in Guangdong province of China. The new equipment will be installed and commissioned at Olympic's Madanpur factory in Narayanganj, the company said. 

Incorporated as Bengal Carbide Limited in 1979, the company began manufacturing batteries in 1982. It later expanded into the production of soybean oil, vegetable ghee, and palm oil, and entered the biscuit and confectionery business in 1996.

Since then, Olympic Industries has gradually expanded its operations, setting up at least nine production lines by 2017.

Once a dry cell battery producer, Olympic has transformed itself into a market leader in the biscuit industry by diversifying its product portfolio, and now its battery unit contributes very small in its total revenue.

Its ninth production line was introduced specifically for cookie production in 2017. 

At that time, the company imported a new cookie line – complete with ancillary and packaging machinery – from Italy and India, at an estimated cost of Tk13.30 crore, funded through a combination of cash and bank financing, to produce new premium varieties of cookies.

The production capacity of this ninth line was estimated at 7,200 tonnes per annum.

Mintu Kumar Das, company secretary of Olympic Industries, told TBS, "We are producing various types of cookies. Now, we need to expand our existing capacity.

"That's why the company has decided to invest fresh funds to import machinery from China. Once the new machines are installed, our production capacity will increase."

He further said, "Along with our existing products, a new product will also be introduced after setting up the new production line."

Investment in land for future expansion

In addition to expanding its production capacity, Olympic Industries has also decided to invest in land acquisition for future expansion.

In a disclosure published on 4 May – alongside its nine-month financials for the current fiscal year – the company unveiled its land investment plan.

According to the disclosure, Olympic Industries plans to purchase five plots of land totalling approximately 503 decimals in Narayanganj, adjacent to its factory.

The company will invest around Tk22.24 crore to acquire the land, excluding registration costs.

As per the disclosure, it will purchase 404 decimals of land in the name of Olympic Industries from Openhafen Holdings Limited at a total agreed price of Tk18.18 crore – equivalent to Tk4.50 lakh per decimal.

Additionally, the company will acquire 35.50 decimals of land near its Lolati factory for Tk1.60 crore, 20.50 decimals for Tk82 lakh, 2.50 decimals for Tk10 lakh and 41 decimals for Tk1.55 crore.

Financials

According to its unaudited financials for the nine months of the fiscal year 2024-25, Olympic Industries reported a year-on-year revenue growth of 10.38% during the July to March period, reaching Tk2,142.88 crore – up from Tk1,941 crore in the same period of the previous year.

However, its net profit grew by only 1.11% to Tk159.29 crore. Despite the double-digit revenue growth, its operating profit declined by 15.96% to Tk178.68 crore.

In the last FY24, its total revenue hit the highest in its history to Tk2,592.88 crore, and profit stood at Tk183.40 crore with an earnings per share (EPS) at Tk9.17, which is up from Tk155.62 crore with EPS at Tk7.78 in FY23. 

It had paid a 10% cash dividend to its shareholders. 

Today (22 May), its share price closed at Tk145.40 each at the DSE, which was a 2.18% increase from the previous trading session.