Linde BD opens new merchant carbon-dioxide plant next month

Linde Bangladesh witnessed a steady growth in the revenue earnings and dividend disbursement, among others, in the last four consecutive years.

Linde BD, a global market leader in gases and engineering solutions, also focused on expansion of its business in Bangladesh through product and service innovation.

The company has already approved an investment of Tk 582.43 million for a new merchant carbon-dioxide plant at Rupganj, with total production capacity of around 36 tonnes per day.

Expected date of commercialisation is by July 2019 as work is proceeding ahead of schedule, the company said in its latest annual report.

In the past several years, Linde Bangladesh has made significant investments in the country and more investments are planned, the company said.

During the period, the company registered revenue growth between 8.65 per cent and 16 per cent based on offering 'superior quality' products at competitive prices.

Ayub Quadri, chairman of Linde Bangladesh, said, the company's turnover registered an increase of 10.50 per cent in 2018 compared to the previous year, with growth in all business segments.

Profit, on the other hand, rose by a modest 5.40 per cent, as profitability is being affected adversely by high raw material import prices, he said.

"Linde Bangladesh witnessed a sharp rise in imported raw material cost which affected profitability as increased costs were passed on to the customers only marginally," said Mr. Quadri, in the annual report.

He noted that the overall performance of the company in 2018 was excellent and it has been the best year so far, both in terms of revenue and earnings.

A steady growth was also observed in dividend disbursement in last five years.

The multinational company disbursed 310 per cent cash dividend in 2015, 310 per cent in 2016, 340 per cent in 2017 and 375 per cent cash dividend in 2018.

The company has been able to sustain the customer base by offering superior quality products at competitive prices.

The fund-flow of the company increased 42 per cent compared to the previous year, reflecting close monitoring of stock position and debtors' balance by business.

The company has also reported earnings per share (EPS) of Tk 65.96, net asset value (NAV) per share of Tk 293.90 and net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) of Tk 76.87 for the year ended on December 31, 2018 as against Tk 62.60, Tk 241.54 and Tk 76.13 respectively for the same period of the previous year.

As per un-audited financial reports, the company's EPS was Tk 18.26 for January-March 2019 as against Tk 17.45 for January-March 2018.

The company paid 375 per cent cash dividend in 2018, which required a payout of Tk 570.7 million, it is the highest ever dividend payment by Linde Bangladesh.

To optimize power cost and to ensure uninterrupted production, an investment of Tk 299 million has been approved to set up 2x5 MW captive generators. Work is in progress and completion is expected in September 2019, said the company.

The company's paid-up capital is Tk 152.18 million and authorised capital is Tk 200 million while the total number of securities is 15.21 million.

The sponsor-directors own 60 per cent stake in the company, while the institutional investors own 29.30 per cent and the general public 10.70 per cent as on April 30, 2019, the DSE data shows.

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