Square Group plans to expand its pharma, textile units

Square Group—one of the largest business conglomerates in the country—has planned to expand its pharmaceuticals and textile units.

The board of Square Pharmaceuticals--the country’s leading drug makers—approved Tk 300 crore for balancing, modernisation, rehabilitation and expansion (BMRE), capital machineries, and lands for future expansion, said the company in a filing with the Dhaka Stock Exchange on Sunday.

Besides, the board of Square Textile Limited also approved a new investment plan to increase the production capacity of the factory.

Under the plan, the yarn plant will be built at a cost of Tk 346 crore. After the completion of the project, the annual production capacity will be increased to 11,565 tonnes and the annual turnover has been estimated to stand at Tk 371 crore per year. The new project is expected to contribute around 5-7 per cent to the existing turnover. The project is scheduled to enter commercial operation within April 2023.

Square Pharma 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.

Square Pharma’s profits rose to Tk 1,594 crore in FY 21, up from Tk 1,295 crore a year earlier.

According to the disclosure, 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.