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Biscuit maker Olympic Industries Ltd witnessed a big surge in demand for its foodstuffs since 2020, which propelled the company to go for big expansion moves to meet the growing consumer demand.
Following the burgeoning demand, the listed firm in November 2021 had announced to invest Tk 25.65 crore to expand its production capacity.
Earlier in July 2021, the company purchased 48 decimals of land in Narayanganj at a cost of Tk 7.20 to build a fresh production unit where factory infrastructures are currently under construction.
In line with the expansion move, the food maker on Thursday announced to buy additional 86 decimals of land at the same location it previously bought a land property at a cost Tk 2.75 crore, according to a filing posted on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) website.
The company’s board of directors decided to purchase this property beside its existing under-construction factory in Narayanganj to widen the factory territory for an increased production capacity.
Talking to The Business Post regarding the issue, Nazimuddin, company secretary of Olympic Industries Ltd, “We have decided to purchase the new land property to expand our factory facilities. We before had purchased land at the same location to establish a factory to manufacture noodles, snacks, and corrugated cartons, which currently is under construction.”
Aiming to boost cartoon manufacturing, building the second baked snack processing line, and marketing chocolate under its brand, the company purchased the property in 2021, according to another DSE disclosure.
In September 2022, the biscuit producer announced that it started the infrastructural work of the new factory with an approximate cost of Tk 28 crore.
According to Nazimuddin, the factory is expected to become operational in 2024.
The second baked snacks processing line would enhance its production capacity of baked snacks by 200 tonnes per month to meet the growing demand for snacks, according to Company Secretary Nazimuddin.
The company has been in the manufacturing and marketing of consumer goods, particularly branded biscuits, confectionery items, and batteries.
The biscuit maker’s revenue in the October-December quarter of the fiscal year 2022-23 jumped by 26 per cent to Tk 680.28 crore from Tk 538.63 crore in the same quarter last fiscal due mainly to impressive growth in sales.
The company posted Tk 58.62 crore in net profit in the October-December quarter of FY23, up 90 per cent from Tk 30.85 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.
Its earnings per share (EPS) stood at Tk 2.93 for the second quarter of FY23, against Tk 1.54 for the same period of FY22. Riding on the demand surge, the company, however, has been registering impressive profit growth since the fiscal year 2019-20.
The company’s net profit in FY20 was Tk 202.49 crore, against the profit of Tk 187.18 crore in the previous fiscal.
The company’s net profit slightly fell to Tk 200 crore in FY21 due to the supply disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The biscuit maker’s net profit dropped to Tk 120.51 crore in FY22, owing to a staggering surge in impost costs amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
The company which went into operation back in 1979 is the maker of popular biscuit brands such as Energy Plus, Tip, and Nutty.
The company is also the pioneer in exporting biscuits, with exporting branded biscuits to at least 30 countries, including the USA, the UK, Greece, France, Cyprus, Portugal, Ghana, and Somalia.
The company got listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange in 1984 and Chittagong Stock Exchange in 1996.
With a market capitalisation of Tk 2,997 crore it has Tk 736 crore in surplus reserve.
Olympic Industries shares closed at Tk 147.1 on the DSE trading floor on Thursday.
