Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
Linde Bangladesh's profit surged 46 per cent year-on-year to Tk 101 million in the April-June quarter this year, riding on higher sales even after the sale of its hard goods business.
The company's cost of goods sold was reduced by 9 per cent year-on-year to Tk 288 million in the quarter as raw materials' prices declined to some extent in the recent months.
Its half-yearly profit also jumped 45 per cent year-on-year to Tk 198 million in January-June this year, while sales grew 10 per cent to Tk 1.14 billion during the time, according to unaudited financial statements published on Tuesday.
Company secretary Abu Mohammad Nisar could not be reached for comments.
Linde sold its welding electrode business to ESAB Group, an American-Swedish industrial company early this month. Electrodes business used to yield more than half of the revenue generation until 2022.
The company's hard goods business faced extreme volatility in recent times, owing to higher input costs for fluctuations in international raw material prices, said an official of the company, requesting not to be named. Moreover, due to limited opportunities and weak demand, the company faced tough competition with both domestic and Chinese players.
The country experienced severe headwinds in shipbuilding, infrastructure, and real estate projects, which resulted in subdued demand for welding electrodes, which compelled Linde to sell the unit, the official said.
Linde, the key player in Bangladesh's industrial gas sector for more than 50 years, has been operating through 18 selling centres across the country. Its products include liquid and gaseous oxygen and nitrogen, argon, acetylene, carbon dioxide, dry ice, refrigerant gases, lamp gas, and medical oxygen.
Linde declared a record 1,540 per cent cash dividend last month based on 10 months' financial results until October 2023, which market analysts said was a one-off dividend that would come from the sale of its welding business unit.
Shareholders will get Tk 154 against each share while the company has reported earnings of Tk 17.25 per share during January-October 2023. That means the company will disburse Tk 2.34 billion in dividends, which is nearly nine times the profit earned during January-October last year.
Therefore, as much as Tk 2.08 billion will come from the company's sale of its assets.