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Beacon Pharmaceuticals will pay a 20 per cent cash dividend for the year ended in June this year, the highest since its listing on the stock exchanges in 2010.
The drug maker's profit grew 2.3 per cent year-on-year to Tk 522 million for FY24 amid the prevailing macro-economic challenges.
Accordingly, earnings per share (EPS) rose to Tk 2.26 for the year to June from Tk 2.21 a year ago, according to a stock exchange filing on Monday.
The company's board declared a 20 per cent cash dividend for general shareholders and 10 per cent for sponsor-directors.
Following the earnings disclosure, the stock rose 0.68 per cent to Tk 133.9 per share on Monday on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.
The drug maker secured a "reasonable profit growth" despite the ongoing challenges, said an official of the company, requesting not to be named. The earnings growth slowed due to higher borrowing costs as the interest rate went up, he added.
Meanwhile, the company suffered a loss of Tk 229 million in the second half of FY24 despite higher sales, owing to higher borrowing costs and increased operating costs. Otherwise, the annual profit would have been higher.
Beacon Pharma gained a profit of Tk 751 million in the first half while the negative earnings in the second half dragged the overall yearly profit.
Apart from higher interest payment, the company bore rising administrative, selling and distribution expenses, which narrowed the profit growth.
The official said the company was trying to minimize costs as much as possible under the prevailing circumstances and focusing on increasing sales to offset the erosion of profit margins.
The drug maker is yet to disclose its detailed financial results, including revenue figures. However, its revenue grew 22 per cent year-on-year to Tk 7.74 billion in the nine months through March this year.
Its finance costs escalated by 327 per cent year-on-year to Tk 718 million while operating expenses [administrative, selling and distribution] rose 17 per cent year-on-year to Tk 2.45 billion in the nine months through March this year.
As of March this year, Beacon Pharma's short-term loans were worth Tk 7.15 billion while long-term loans Tk 2.67 billion, according to its financial statements.
The net operating cash flow per share, an indicator that shows a company's ability to generate cash from its operations, turned Tk 0.78 per share in the negative in FY24, as against Tk 2.69 in the positive the year before.
The company scheduled the annual general meeting for December 23 and the record date for the entitlement of dividends is October 27.