Sea Pearl posts record profit as business thrives after pandemic

Sea Pearl Beach Resort and Spa Limited, the owner company of Cox’s Bazar’s luxury hotel Royal Tulip, posted a 1560 per cent year-on-year growth in its net profit in the first quarter (July-September) of the fiscal year 2022-23.

This is the highest profit the company registered in a single quarter after its capital market listing in 2019.

The company registered this stellar profit growth riding on the booming hotel business that returned to normalcy in recent months after the backlash created by the pandemic.

In the Q1 of the fiscal year 2021-22, the company registered a net loss of Tk 1.1 crore versus the same period of the previous year.

Apart from the booming profit in Q1 of the new fiscal, the company also posted a 120 per cent growth in net profit for the fiscal year 2021-22, compared to the previous year.

The company’s net profit stood at Tk16.13 crore in FY22 from Tk7.37 crore in FY21.

It had registered a net loss of Tk 1.15 crore in the FY20 as the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged the tourism industry both on the global and the domestic fronts.

During the epidemic, the company’s hotel business had come nearly to a halt, hammering its income significantly.

As the pandemic faded its way in the last seven to eight months in Bangladesh, the company achieved stellar growth in revenue for the Q1 of FY23 and the FY22 as well riding on the increased utilisation of hotel rooms in peak seasons and the full-fledged operations of Water Park and the cruise ship business.

Sea Pearl Beach Company Secretary, Azaharul Mamun told The Business Post that the pandemic hardest hit its business in the first few months of fiscal 2021-22, forcing it to register negative growth in profit for the Q1 of FY22.

“But when the epidemic situation started getting improved, our business had also started getting momentum, helping us post a 120 per cent growth in net profit at the end of fiscal 2021-22,” Mamun said.

The board of directors of Sea Pearl Beach Resort and Spa Limited recommended a 15 per cent cash dividend for the general shareholder excluding sponsors and directors for the year ended in June 2022.

Its sponsors and directors held a 46.83 per cent stake in the company, while institutions and general shareholders own 26.96 per cent and 26.21 per cent respectively till 30 September 2022.

The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of Tk 1.34 for FY22 against Tk 0.61 in the previous fiscal.

Its net asset value (NAV) stood at Tk 11.77 for FY22.

The company posted an operating profit of Tk 42 crore in FY22, up Tk 10.14 crore from that in the previous year.