Baraka Patenga sinks into losses in Jul-Dec

Baraka Patenga Power Limited faced a crucial test in the first half of the current fiscal year, as the company witnessed a massive loss that time due mainly to volatile currency exchange rates.

The publicly traded company reported a net loss of was Tk 27.16 crore in the July-December period of the fiscal year 2022-23 against a net profit of Tk 59.27 crore in the same period last fiscal year.

Though the company’s first half-yearly revenues remained almost the same in comparison with that in the same period last fiscal, its cashbook depleted due to the rocketing production cost caused by the strong dollar value against the taka.

The company itself and its subsidiaries faced headwinds due to the above reasons in H1 of the current fiscal year.

In face of the Russia-Ukraine war, import costs surged many times mainly due to the mighty dollar against other currencies. As a result, it was not possible to keep the earnings steady, the company stated in its H1 financial report.

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) on January 20, 2021, approved the company to go public.

The company had raised a fund of Tk 225 crore through an initial public offering (IPO) under the book-building method.

The company reported a loss per-share of Tk 1.57 for the first six months of FY23, compared to earnings per share of Tk 1.85 for the same period last year.

The company’s consolidated earnings per share (EPS) at the time of its listing were Tk 4.37, while it was Tk 1.84 on a solo basis.

The five-year weighted average of the company’s consolidated EPS was Tk 3.30, which was Tk 2.82 excluding the profits of subsidiaries.

Baraka Group, mainly a venture of non-resident Bangladeshis, began its journey in the mid-2000s to develop a modern residential area in Sylhet.

The net cash flow per share (NOCFPS) of Baraka Patenga stood at Tk 16.92 for the July-December of 2022 against Tk 10.70 for the July-December of 2021.

Baraka Power shares remained unchanged at Tk 29.30 per share on the trading board of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on Monday.

Sponsors and directors jointly held a 38.15 per cent stake in the company, while institutional investors owned 7.05 per cent and the general investors 54.80 per cent as on December 2021.