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Taufika Foods and Lovello Ice-Cream has decided to invest Tk 1.50 billion to set up its second unit to enhance production capacity amid growing demand.
The Ice-cream producer has already purchased 59.16 decimals of land for the second unit at Bhaluka in Mymensingh, according to a statement on Sunday.
Lovello is going to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Singapore-based Tetra Pak South East Asia Pte Ltd, China-based MEC Group (Equipmentimes), and Italian Ges Yantai Moon Company, to bring capital machinery for the second unit.
The company expects the second unit will come into operation by June 2025.
“After successful completion of the second unit, its production capacity would be doubled to 250,000 litres per day,” according to the statements.
The fund will be arranged through the company’s own cash flow and bank loans.
Following the news, its stock price rose 1.93 per cent to close at Tk 89.6 on Sunday, despite the overall market ending lower.
Financial Performance
Lovello Ice-cream – a brand of publicly listed Taufika Foods and Lovello Ice-cream – posted an impressive 73 per cent year-on-year growth in profit in the third quarter of FY24, riding on higher sales.
The ice-cream producer has reported a net profit of Tk 61.44 million in the January-March quarter this year, up from Tk 34.74 million in the same quarter a year before.
Accordingly, earnings per share jumped to Tk 0.71 in the March quarter from Tk 0.41 in the same quarter in the previous year.
The company said the ice-cream business is basically a seasonal business, and demand for ice cream remains high in the summer season.
“The company’s sales have increased in the January-March quarter as the summer season started. As a result, net profit also increased in comparison to that of the second quarter of the current financial year,” said the company in its earnings notes.
Lovello Ice-cream’s sales jumped more than 60 per cent year-on-year to Tk 397 million in January-March this year.
“The robust sales growth during the quarter compared to the same quarter last year helped to higher profit growth”.
The company’s nine months’ profit also rose 12 per cent year-on-year to Tk 108.4 million through March this year as sales increased.
The net asset value per share rose to Tk 13.21 through March 2024 from Tk 12.94 while the net operating cash flow per share improved to Tk 3.50 from Tk 2.12.
Ice-cream consumption increased in recent times in line with the peoples’ growing spending capacity, urbanization, and access to electricity in the rural areas.
Taufika Foods and Lovello Ice-cream has been engaged in the business of manufacturing and distribution of ice cream since 2016 under the brand name Lovello.
Lovello Ice-cream is produced of imported high-quality raw materials using state-of-the-art technology.
The company got listed in February 2021, by raising Tk 300 million through an initial public offering (IPO) to expand its business.