Ifad Autos opens cabin manufacturing unit in Dhamrai

Ifad Autos Limited, an authorised dealer and assembler of Ashok Leyland vehicles, has started manufacturing cabins for small and large trucks at the newly-built Ifad Industrial Park in Dhamrai near Dhaka.

The company secretary, Md Sazzad Hossain Talukder, said the manufacturing unit on the outskirts of the capital kicked off its operations on 31 December last year.

"Our single-shift monthly production will be 300 units which will total 3,600 units annually, and while in full swing, a 100% production capacity will fetch 10,000 units per year," he added.

The price of each share of the company rose by 7.63% to Tk50.80 at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), according to the DSE website on Sunday.

In 2017, the company raised a fund of Tk124.38 crore by issuing right shares of Tk20 each – including a premium of Tk10 in order to set up a cabin manufacturing unit and meet other expenditures.

The company has invested Tk19.23 crore from the fund to develop this unit.

Earlier in December last year, Ifad Autos decided to purchase a bigha of land worth Tk19.84 crore for its future business expansion.

The company says it will buy the land located in Tejgaon industrial area in the capital with its own funds.

Beginning its journey in the late 1980s, Ifad Group imported double-decker buses and tyres.

Now, it exclusively assembles Ashok Leyland commercial vehicles and sells TVS three-wheelers as well as Escorts' farming and construction equipment.

It has also entered a joint venture with Gulf Oil International UK to distribute and later manufacture Gulf lubricants in Bangladesh.

Beyond the automobile business, the group is also involved in the business of food items both for domestic and overseas markets.

Ifad Autos Limited, the flagship company of Ifad Group, joined the stock market in 2015. Its sponsors and directors jointly own 62.77% of the company's shares.

Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, a 66-day countrywide shutdown ate away the sales and profits of most automobile companies.

Only Ifad Autos reported growth while other automotive entities made moderate recoveries following the reopening of their businesses.

Ifad Autos' revenue grew by 4% to Tk187.79 crore, and profit rose by 38% to Tk17.24 crore, in the post-shutdown quarter from July to September.

Taskeen Ahmed, managing director of the company, said Ifad Autos made a comeback twice more than the entire group – in a robust way.

"This is because we handle our business smartly during the tough time," said Taskeen.

Explaining Ifad's "smart business," its managing director shed light on the business of light commercial vehicles (LCV) and tractors and said the company is trying to cope with the rising demand for buses.

"What contributed most to our comeback was our focus on LCV. It is a joint venture product of Ashok Leyland and Nissan. We hit the LCV market at the beginning of this year," he added.