Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
Despite a significant year-on-year jump in revenue, Olympic Industries' profit grew less than 1 per cent to Tk 565 million in the first quarter of FY25 amid much higher operating expenses.
The country's leading biscuit manufacturer's earnings per share (EPS) stood at Tk 2.83 for July-September this year from Tk 2.81 for the same quarter a year earlier, according to price-sensitive information published on Tuesday.
The company maintained a gross profit margin of 25.14 per cent during the period under review, compared to 25.76 per cent in the corresponding period of the preceding year.
Sales shot up almost 19 per cent year-on-year to 7.53 billion in the quarter but a big chunk of the revenue earned was wiped out as selling expenditures.
Revenue increased due to effective measures taken to boost sales, said the company in its earnings note.
However, operating expenses escalated 43 per cent year-on-year to Tk 1.22 billion in the quarter through September as selling expenses alone soared 33 per cent year-on-year to Tk 1.05 billion during the time.
The net operating cash flow per share, which indicates a company's ability to generate cash from its operations, stood at Tk 3.08 per share for July-September this year, down from Tk 4.42 in the same quarter last year.
The cash flow declined due to higher payments to suppliers of materials and higher advance income tax payments, said the company.
Company secretary Mintu Kumar Das could not be reached for comments.
ANNUAL FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Olympic Industries secured an 18 per cent growth in profit to Tk 1.83 billion in FY24 over the previous year, riding on higher sales and efficient cost management.
The company's annual sales rose slightly by 0.54 per cent year-on-year to Tk 25.93 billion in FY24, despite persisting macroeconomic challenges and high inflationary pressure.
Higher sales and significantly lower finance costs, largely due to lower impact from currency devaluation, helped the company secure a profit growth.
The board of directors recommended a 10 percent cash dividend for FY24, whereas the company paid a record 60 per cent cash dividend for the year before.
That means the company will pay Tk 1 for each share from a profit of Tk 9.17 per share in the year. It, however, did not say why such a low dividend was recommended.
EBL Securities, in its equity note on Olympic, stated that the company had made significant investments to enter major segments such as instant noodles, dry cakes, soft cakes, chocolate-enrobed wafers, filled candies, toffees, toasts, and savory snacks.
These investments clearly point to the company's expansion strategy, EBL noted.
Meanwhile, the stock rose 1.67 per cent to close at Tk 152.5 per share on the Dhaka bourse on Tuesday.