Home ›› 14 Mar 2023 ›› Stock
Linde Bangladesh Ltd, a medical and industrial gas manufacturer of the country, reported its net profit slumped to the lowest in six years, due to an increase in the cost of raw materials and a decreasing demand for medical gasses after the enormous demand created by COVID-19..
Profit of the multinational gas manufacturer declined by 28 per cent to Tk 88.32 crore in 2022, compared to Tk 122.58 crore in 2021.
The publicly traded company manufactures in three segments: bulk gases, packaged gas and products, and healthcare. Growth in the shipbuilding, steel, and healthcare industries might be major drivers of business growth for the company.
The demand for medical gases increased to 70–75 tonnes per day in 2020 and up to 100 tonnes per day in 2021, whereas the pre-pandemic demand for medical gases used to be 30–35 tonnes per day. The reason behind this surge is the use of oxygen by Covid patients.
The company’s revenue and net profit took a hit after the pandemic due to the decreasing demand for oxygen and the increased cost of raw materials.
The company’s earnings per share (EPS) were Tk 58.04 in 2022, compared to Tk 80.55 of the previous year, according to the audited financial statements.
At the end of 2022, the multinational company’s net asset value per share stood at Tk 397.44.
Linde shareholders will get 420 per cent cash dividends in FY22 which was 550 per cent in FY21.
On April 2, the company will identify its shareholders to attend the annual general meeting and receive the dividends.
Meanwhile, the company posted a disclosure on the Dhaka Stock Exchange’s website on Monday saying that it has decided to restructure and reorganise its gas and hard goods business.
Besides, the company will demerge its hard goods business to a fully owned subsidiary, subject to the High Court’s approval.
It also decided to get approval for the demerger from the shareholders through an extraordinary general meeting to be held on May 11.
After getting the High Court approval, the hard goods business will be hived down to a fully owned subsidiary, the disclosure said.
Hard goods sales suffered particularly during the pandemic as the overall economic activity declined. LINDEBD witnessed a 24 per cent decline in their sales in 2020.
As medical gases became the primary focus for the company during the pandemic, changing the production ratio from 60 (medical gases): 40 (industrial gases) to 80 (medical gases): 20 (industrial gases). As a result, sales of industrial gases suffered as revenue from packaged gas and products declined by 24.20 per cent.
Linde BD’s sales were mostly driven by the market demand of medical gases during the first two quarters of 2021.
As the pandemic is slowing down, demand for medical gases has declined, and Linde BD has suffered a 9.44 per cent sales decline in Q3 of FY21.
Linde Bangladesh was incorporated in 1973 and listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) in 1976 under the fuel and power sector. Its shares were traded on the floor at Tk 1,397 each on Sunday at the Dhaka bourse.
