Singer reports back-to-back loss for Q2, promising rebound by year end

Singer Bangladesh has reported a loss of Tk 310 million for the second quarter through June this year despite higher sales due to a significant increase in finance costs.

The multinational electronic and home appliance manufacturer, however, said the loans it had taken funded the construction of its new manufacturing plant at Bangladesh Special Economic Zone (BSEZ), a strategic move expected to triple production capacity to achieve cost advantage.

The boost in production will improve the company's profitability, which is anticipated to become visible at the end of this year, it added.

Singer suffered losses in the first quarter of this year as well.

The loss per share is Tk 3.11 for the April-June quarter this year as opposed to a profit of Tk 2.58 per share the year before, according to price sensitive information published on Thursday.

During the period, sales rose 3.31 per cent year-on-year to Tk 8.11 billion.

The company said in its earnings note that selling prices could not be increased to remain competitive, which caused losses.

Average costs of products went up for discounts or promotional offers given to customers, said the company.

Singer's operating profit slid 5.1 per cent year-on-year in April-June this year due to higher expenditures on advertisement & sales promotion. Operating expenses surged 14 per cent year-on-year, contributing to the reduction in operating profit.

Singer's net finance costs jumped more than 179 per cent year-on-year to Tk 967 million in April-June this year. This increase is mainly due to interest on long-term loans (foreign loan and syndicated loan) and overall higher borrowing costs, the company explained.

Singer obtained a long-term loan of EUR 27.50 million from its parent company in March last year, with a term of seven years -- two-year grace period plus five-year repayment period. Apart from that, it took out syndicated loans worth Tk 2 billion from local banks last year.

As a result, its short-term borrowings shot up by 15.9 per cent to Tk 13.80 billion between December last year and June this year. Its long-term debts stood at Tk 5.43 billion until June.

Apart from increased finance costs, higher forex loss, operating expenses and costs of sales led to the erosion of the company's bottom-line growth.

The Taka has been devalued against the Euro by 4.2 per cent since May this year. "This has significantly impacted unrealised exchange losses."

Singer's half-yearly sales grew 15.4 per cent year-on-year to Tk 13.69 billion in January-June. Still, the company witnessed a loss of Tk 659 million in the first half of 2025 through June.

Production rollout at new plant

Singer started commercial operation of the new manufacturing plant in January this year, bolstering its foothold in the fast-growing market.

The plant is the flagship project within the Bangladesh Special Economic Zone at Araihazar in Narayanganj.

Spanning 135,000 square meters, the new plant is designed to manufacture 90 per cent of Singer products locally, including refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, and air conditioners, for the local market.

Maiden export

The board of directors of Singer Bangladesh has approved export of a trial consignment of Wire Harness to Beko Romania, a subsidiary of Arcelik A.S., Turkey (Singer Bangladesh's ultimate parent).

This significant milestone has become possible to achieve due to the operation of the new state-of-the-art home appliance plant, which "marks the official launch of exports", the company said.

Annual Performance

Singer suffered a loss of Tk 490 million in 2024, for the first time in six years, thanks to a substantial increase in finance costs.

Despite losses, the company paid a 10 per cent cash dividend for 2024, although reduced from 35 per cent cash dividends paid for 2023.

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