Phoenix Finance’s quarterly losses deepen by an awful lot

Poorly performing Phoenix Finance and Investments Limited incurred a loss as gigantic as Tk80.61 crore in the April to June quarter of 2023, which was 69 times the loss incurred in the same quarter previous year.

In the second quarter of 2022, the non-bank financial institution (NBFI) turned a loss of Tk1.16 crore.

In its stock exchange filing on Sunday, the NBFI held year-on-year increases in the provision of loans, advances, and investments, and profit before provision accountable for such a huge mounting of net loss during this year's second quarter.

Also, the company failed to recommend any dividend for the year that ended on 31 December, 2022.

Phoenix Finance's Company Secretary Mohammad Sayduzzaman could not be reached over phone for a comment regarding the quarterly loss.

In this year's April to June quarter, the company's loss per share stood at Tk4.86, which was Tk0.07 a year ago.

In the first half of 2023, the net loss stood at Tk223.43 crore, which was a profit of Tk0.17 crore in the same period of 2022. Net operating cash flow per share stood at a negative Tk1.53.

The NBFI said in the disclosure that its net operating cash flow per share decreased because of a decline in cash generation from terms and other deposits.

According to Bangladesh Bank data, the classified loan of Phoenix Finance stood at Tk638 crore at the end of June 2023, which was around 23.42% of its total disbursed loans.

Phoenix Finance's shares are stuck at the floor price of Tk16.30 on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

Phoenix Group of Industries and Pakiza Group dominate the company's board of directors.

As of 31 August 2023, sponsors and directors jointly held 30.51%, institutional investors 23.63%, and the general public 45.86% of the company's shares.