HeidelbergCement nets 9 times higher profit
The German-based multinational company has declared a 20% cash dividend for its shareholders
HeidelbergCement Bangladesh Limited has witnessed nine times higher year-on-year growth in net profit to Tk46.51 crore in the first quarter of this year.
The German-based multinational company, which incurred a loss of Tk8.08 crore last year, has declared a 20% cash dividend for its shareholders after a year gap.
Last year its revenue stood at Tk1,168.10 crore, which was slightly lower than the previous year.
But in the January-March quarter of this year, the cement manufacturer reported a 44% growth in revenue to Tk550.58 crore, and the earnings per share stood at Tk8.23.
A senior officer of the company said they could achieve such impressive growth mainly because of various government projects.
HeidelbergCement had earlier acquired two companies named Emirates Cement and Emirates Power at a cost of Tk182.58 crore, from UltraTech Cement Middle East Investments Ltd.
On 7 February, the company received a High Court direction for amalgamation, and to get the approval of the scheme for the merger, it will hold an extraordinary general meeting on 2 May.
From 11-20 April, HeidelbergCement's share prices soared by 38% to Tk233.6, from Tk168.6 each.
For an unusual price hike, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) sent a query to the company. In response, HeidelbergCement said there was no price-sensitive information behind the unusual price hike.
Meanwhile, the quarterly net sales of another multinational company, LafargeHolcim, has risen to Tk631.8 crore, resulting in a 23% growth over the same period of last year.
Raw material from own sources, strong distribution channels, and a new product have helped LafargeHolcim Bangladesh Limited post a staggering 98% growth in profit to Tk103.5 crore in the first three months of 2021.
"We have continued the journey of strong performance with a clear focus on innovation and sustainability. Our new water repellent cement and the new business channel 'direct to retail' have got off to a solid start. This is yet another manifestation of our continued endeavour in serving our customers better by realising their needs," Rajesh K Surana, chief executive officer of the company, said in a press release.
"We have also started producing clear size aggregates effective this quarter which is an import substitution and has the potential of saving substantial foreign exchange for the nation. This is reassuring that we have started receiving positive responses for this product from our customers."
