Crown Cement makes Tk 344 million profit in Q1 of FY24

Crown Cement, one of the leading players in the cement industry, has made a remarkable recovery in the first quarter (July-September) of FY24, reporting a healthy profit after suffering losses in the same quarter in the previous year.

The cement maker made a Tk 344 million profit in the July-September quarter of this fiscal year as against the loss of Tk 53 million in the same quarter in the previous fiscal, according to its unaudited financial statements published on Monday.

Accordingly, earnings per share stood at Tk 2.32 for July-September 2023 as against Tk (0.36) for July-September 2022.

This turnaround was driven by robust sales growth and an increase in product prices.

The cement maker’s sales grew more than 22 per cent year-on-year to Tk 6.22 billion while costs of sales increased by 17 per cent to Tk 5.11 billion during the September quarter.

Crown Cement managed to increase sales price hike by 10.56 per cent year-on-year during the quarter despite inflationary pressure.

Profit has been increased due to sales growth and sales price increase compared to the first quarter of the last year, said the company in its earnings notes.

Also, the company has taken various measures to control costs, it added.

The net operating cash flow per share dropped 68 per cent to Tk 0.93 mainly due to an outstanding freight payment of Tk 1,207.30 million.

The cement maker also posted a profit of Tk 610.34 million in FY23, a significant rebound from the loss of Tk 229.27 million in FY22.

Based on the profit, the board of the company declared a 20 per cent cash dividend for FY23.

Following the news, its stock price rose 3.90 per cent to Tk 77.30 until 1:00 pm at the Dhaka Stock Exchange on Monday.

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