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The leading listed drugs makers--Square Pharmaceuticals, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, Renata, and The IBN SINA Pharmaceutical Industry--have witnessed a bumper fiscal 2020-21 (FY21) hit by the Covid-19 pandemic as they made record profits and declared the highest ever dividends.
The companies, which manufacture hygienic products during the pandemic--logged healthy profits in the fiscal year, according to an analysis carried out by The Business Post.
Experts have attributed the higher growth of pharmaceutical firms to the rising demands for hygienic drugs in both the local and foreign markets.
Bangladeshi pharmaceutical products were being exported to 199 countries, generating over US$100 million in turnover in the last fiscal year.
Square Pharmaceuticals, the country’s leading drug makers, has declared 60 per cent cash dividends for FY21. Its latest dividend payout broke the record it made in FY20 when it was 47 per cent.
According to the company sources, it reported earnings per share (EPS) for FY21 was Tk 17.99, an increase of 20 per cent in the same period a year earlier. And the consolidated EPS stood at Tk 15.07 during the period.
On Thursday, the company’s share rose 1.12 per cent to Tk 233.80 on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).
Beximco Pharmaceuticals—another leading drug makers in the country—has declared 35 per cent cash dividends for FY21, which was the highest-ever in its history, thanks to an increase in sales of hygienic products during the pandemic.
The directors recommended the dividends in the company’s board meeting on Thursday. The latest dividend payout broke the record made in FY 20 when it was 15 per cent.
Its net profit increased around 46 per cent to stand at Tk 517 crore in the last financial year compared to the previous fiscal year.
On Thursday, the company’s share gained 3.38 per cent to Tk 229.60 on the DSE.
The company agreed with the government to supply 30 million doses of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
On the other hand, Renata declared a 145 per cent cash dividend, which is the highest dividend declaration in the company’s history.
Renata also declared a 10 per cent stock dividend for FY21. Its net profit jumped by 21.79 per cent to Tk 503 crore.
The IBN SINA’s net profit shot up by 24 per cent in FY 21 over the previous year.
The board of directors of the company recommended a 47 per cent cash dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2021.
The consolidated earnings per share stood at Tk 15.66 in FY21, which was Tk 12.56 in FY20.
In the last fiscal year, the company’s business grew exponentially. As a result, its revenue and profit increased, said Md Kabir Hossain, the company secretary of the IBN SINA Pharma.
In FY20, the IBN SINA had paid to its shareholders a 38.5 per cent cash dividend.
The pharmaceuticals industry is meeting about 98 per cent of the local demand for medicine and exports to more than 147 countries.
The local companies make up 90 per cent and multinational companies the rest of the total market shares.
Of the total pharmaceutical market share, Square Pharmaceuticals holds 17.73 per cent, Incepta 10.21 per cent, Beximco 8.39 per cent, Opsonin 5.54 per cent, Renata 4.97 per cent, Healthcare Pharma 4.57 per cent, ACI 4.43 per cent, Aristo pharma 4.38 per cent, Eskayef 4.36 per ent, and Acme 3.91 per cent.
Investors said they were increasingly betting on pharmaceutical stocks as the sector grew significantly for years.
While the pharma’s growth sounds encouraging, investors are however advised to observe caution while placing their bets on aggressive earnings as the current phase of growth might not happen in days to come.
