Bangladesh
6 days ago

BAT Bangladesh profit slumps 81pc in Q2

Closure of Dhaka factory, lower sales weigh

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BAT Bangladesh has reported an 81 per cent plunge in net profit year-on-year to Tk 972 million in the second quarter (April-June) of 2025, owing to lower sales and a temporary closure of its Dhaka factory.

The multinational tobacco manufacturer saw its earnings per share (EPS) fall to Tk 1.80 in Q2, compared to Tk 9.48 during the same period last year, according to its financial statements.

The board of directors of the company at a meeting on Thursday approved its financial statements for the second quarter.

The company's net revenue for the quarter declined to Tk 22.13 billion, over 23 per cent down from Tk 28.91 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2024.

BAT Bangladesh stated that 'higher inflationary adjustment in the cost base' and a 'partial impairment cost' associated with the Dhaka factory closure weighed on both top-line and bottom-line growth.

As a result of the factory shutdown, operating expenses surged 84 per cent year-on-year to Tk 4.88 billion in the quarter ended June.

The company's half-yearly profit also fell 55 per cent year-on-year to Tk 4.15 billion in January-June this year while net revenue dropped 16.5 per cent to Tk 40.77 billion due to the same reason.

Domestic sales plunged 20 per cent to Tk 37.76 billion alongside a 31 per cent drop in stick sales due to high inflationary pressure. But leaf exports jumped seven-fold to Tk 1.94 billion in January-June this year.

BAT Bangladesh shut down its factory in the capital on July 1, following the Supreme Court's rejection of its appeal to extend the land lease agreement.

However, to offset the impact of production disruption, the management of the company is working to enhance production capacity of its Savar factory.

Last month, the company's board decided to invest Tk 2.97 billion to expand the capacity of its Savar factory.

BAT Bangladesh invested more than Tk 12 billion in phases in the past four years to increase its production capacity.

The net operating cash flow per share, a measure of a company's ability to generate cash from its operations, stood at positive Tk 9.05 for the January-June period this year as against negative Tk 20.87 in the same period of the previous year. The figure turned positive due to higher revenue from export coupled with lower payment outflow.

The net asset value, which refers to the excess of total assets over total liabilities, dropped to Tk 99.57 per share, down from Tk 106.47 in December 2023.

Annual Performance

BAT Bangladesh posted a 2 per cent year-on-year growth in profit to Tk 17.51 billion in 2024. Despite insignificant profit growth, the company paid a 300 per cent cash dividend in total for the year, the highest in three years.

BAT has factories located in Dhaka and Savar, a green leaf threshing plant in Kushtia, and a green leaf re-drying plant in Manikganj.

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