InterContinental Dhaka owner posts 10 straight years of losses

State-owned Bangladesh Services Limited (BSL), the owner of InterContinental Dhaka, has logged its tenth consecutive year in the red, reporting yet another year of financial slump in fiscal year 2024-25.

According to the company's financial disclosure on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), BSL incurred a net loss of Tk87.38 crore during FY25. The company also announced that it would not pay any dividend for the year, continuing a dividend freeze that has been in place since FY14.

By the end of FY25, the company's accumulated losses had swelled to Tk705 crore, reflecting the prolonged financial stress it has been enduring. 

Despite its prime location and high-profile operations, the company's shares have remained unchanged at Tk5.20, well below face value, as the government owns 99.68% of its stock, leaving very few shares in public hands.

The losing streak has continued into the current fiscal year. In the first quarter of FY26, BSL reported a further loss of Tk24.28 crore, with a loss per share of Tk2.48 as of September.

The company's auditor, in its report for FY25, raised concerns about the company's financial sustainability, noting that its current liabilities exceeded current assets by Tk308 crore. It also pointed out that BSL has a debt-equity ratio of 0.42 and loans totalling Tk907 crore.

However, the board expressed confidence that the company could continue operations, citing ongoing negotiations with lenders for loan restructuring and interest waivers.

Mounting debt

BSL had spent Tk732 crore on the renovation, funded largely through a Tk573 crore long-term loan from Agrani Bank. The loan, including accrued interest and other liabilities, has now ballooned to nearly Tk1,000 crore, significantly burdening the company's balance sheet.

The audit report also attributed the company's losses to extraordinary circumstances, including travel advisories, security alerts, frequent political protests, and road blockades around the hotel, which severely impacted guest arrivals and corporate bookings.

The company's financial troubles began after the hotel's temporary closure for renovation in 2014, when it last recorded a profit of Tk3.21 crore.

As the country's first five-star hotel, it began its journey as Hotel InterContinental Dhaka in the mid-1960s and was managed by the InterContinental Hotels Group until 1983. It was later rebranded as the Dhaka Sheraton Hotel under Starwood management and operated under that name until 2011.

The property was later renamed Ruposhi Bangla Hotel under local management before being relaunched in 2018 as InterContinental Dhaka, following extensive renovations and a renewed management agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group. 

However, since reopening in December 2018, it has failed to return to profitability.

Apart from the InterContinental, BSL also manages the Balaka Executive Lounge at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and the BSL Office Complex adjacent to the hotel. 

It had also operated the Bangabandhu International Convention Centre (BICC) until January this year, when the property was handed over to the Public Works Department (PWD) following the expiration of its lease.