Sinha Fashions to sell 11.05 lakh LafargeHolcim Bangladesh shares
On Sunday, LafargeHolcim shares fell by over 5%, closing at Tk56.60
Sinha Fashions Limited, a subsidiary of the once-prominent apparel conglomerate Sinha-Medlar Group, announced yesterday its plan to sell 11.05 lakh shares from its total holding of 2.89 crore shares in LafargeHolcim Bangladesh.
According to its announcement on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), Sinha Fashions will sell these shares at the prevailing market price in the public or block market by 31 October.
On Sunday, LafargeHolcim shares fell by over 5%, closing at Tk56.60. At this price, the total sale by Sinha Fashions would amount to approximately Tk6.25 crore.
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Earlier, in October 2022, Sinha Fashions transferred 54 lakh shares of LafargeHolcim Bangladesh to Midland Bank, as per the disclosure. The company also sold 7.50 lakh shares of the cement company to repay a bank loan and to maintain a clean record with the Credit Information Bureau.
In April last year, Sinha Fashions dropped out of LafargeHolcim Bangladesh's board following the resignation of its nominated director, Naheed Akhter Sinha, according to the DSE.
According to the LafargeHolcim annual report, Anisur Rahman Sinha was on the board of the cement company from 2003 to 2018 as a nominated director of Sinha Fashions, after which Naheed Akhter Sinha took over the position.
According to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Sinha-Medlar Group, once Asia's largest garment trader, is not performing well.
Due to lost work orders and financial losses, it closed its largest factory at Kanchpur in Narayanganj in October 2021. However, Sinha Fashions' factory in Ashulia is currently in production.
Apart from Sinha, LafargeHolcim's local partner is Islam Group's Islam Cement. Currently, Manzurul Islam serves as the nominated director of LafargeHolcim. In addition, Surma Holding BV of the Netherlands has seven nominated directors and currently has a Bangladeshi shareholder director on Lafarge's board.
LafargeHolcim's financial performance
LafargeHolcim Bangladesh witnessed a sharp 53% decline in profit and an 8% drop in sales in the second quarter of 2024, attributed to macroeconomic challenges affecting the construction industry.
According to its financial report, the multinational company reported a profit of Tk80 crore in the April-June quarter, down from Tk170 crore in the same period last year.
During the quarter, its revenue declined to Tk616 crore, compared to Tk671 crore during the same time the previous year, the statement reads.
However, in the first half through June this year, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh saw a 33% decrease in net profit to Tk243 crore and a 5% decline in revenue to Tk1,442 crore.
