Unilever opens Ctg’s production site today

Unilever Consumer Care Limited, a subsidiary of Unilever Bangladesh, announced the commencement of operation of its Chattogram-based manufacturing facility from today (Wednesday).

The company, according to a filing posted on the website of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) yesterday, will start both manufacturing and commercial operations at its port city site located in the Fouzderhat industrial area.

Earlier on April 27 last year, the company said its board had taken necessary steps to resume the production as well as commercial operation at its Chattogram site. The multinational company posted a 40 per cent year-on-year jump in profit in the first nine months (January-September) of the year 2022.

The publicly traded company’s net profit stood at Tk 54.04 crore in the January-September period this year from Tk 38.67 crore for the same period a year back. Its earnings per share (EPS) stood at Tk 44.86 for the nine months this year against Tk 32.10 for the same period last year.

In the last three months (Jul-Sep’22), the company’s net profit stood at Tk 18.72 crore against Tk 16.28 crore for the same period last year.

The latest quarter’s EPS stood at Tk 15.54 against Tk 13.52 for the corresponding period last year.

Unilever’s company secretary, Mohammad Naharul Islam Molla, told the media after the release of their latest quarterly report, “We are doing business well. If everything goes well in the coming days, we can offer a healthy dividend at the end of the year.”

“Our operational expenses were also lower compared to the previous year, which had a positive impact on the earnings,” he added.

The company’s net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) was Tk 16.99 for the Jan-Sep’22 against Tk 41.54 for the same period of the last year.

Its net asset value (NAV) per share stood at Tk 123.74 as on September 2022 and Tk 122.88 as on December 2021.

Unilever in June 2020, acquired around 82 per cent stake in GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Bangladesh, a listed firm on the bourses since 1976, from Setfirst for Tk 2,020 crore, making it the largest transaction by a single company at the Dhaka bourse. Under the acquisition, Unilever got the ownership of GSK’s iconic health food and drinks (HFD) portfolio brands, including Horlicks, Boost and Glaxose-D.