RAK Ceramics to rejoin 'A' category after dividend payout

RAK Ceramics (Bangladesh) Limited will be reclassified from the 'Z' category to the 'A' category effective 22 July 2025, after the disbursement of a 10% cash dividend for the financial year ending 31 December 2024, according to a Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) notice.

As per regulatory guidelines, stock brokers and merchant bankers have been instructed to refrain from providing margin loan facilities to purchase RAK Ceramics shares from the 1st to the 7th trading day after the reclassification.

Despite the upgrade, the company's share price declined by 0.48% yesterday, closing at Tk20.90.

Earlier this year, RAK Ceramics was downgraded to the 'Z' category — often referred to as the junk category — for the first time in its history due to a delay in dividend disbursement. 

Although the company proposed a 10% cash dividend totaling Tk43 crore on 27 January and secured shareholder approval at its AGM on 22 March, it failed to distribute the funds within the mandatory 30 working days, thereby violating BSEC listing regulations.

RAK Ceramics is a subsidiary of UAE-based RAK Ceramics PJSC, which holds 68.13% of the company's shares. Managing Director SAK Ekramuzzaman holds 3.95%, while general investors own the rest.

The company has encountered substantial operational challenges in recent years. In 2024, its revenue declined by 15% to Tk667 crore, primarily due to an unreliable gas supply that constrained production capacity. 

As a result, the company reported a net loss of Tk2.73 crore, with a loss per share of Tk0.06 for the year.

In its disclosure, the company attributed its losses to the underutilisation of production facilities due to an unstable gas supply from the national grid. This pressure continued into 2025, resulting in a net loss of Tk2.53 crore in the first quarter and a 17% year-on-year decline in revenue to Tk147 crore.