Kutubuddin reinstated as Envoy Textiles chairman

The High Court (HC) finally reconstituted the board of directors of Envoy Textiles Limited, a cent per cent export-oriented denim manufacturer, following a lawsuit filed by the company’s former managing director and one of its founders Abdus Salam Murshedy.

As per a filing posted on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) website, the HC in its final order reconstituted the company’s board making Kutubuddin Ahmed as its chairman.

Other members on the new board are Dr Kazi Anowarul Hoque, vice-chairman and independent director; Barrister Shafiqur Rahman, independent director; Fakhrudin Ahmed, independent director; Ambassador Syed Shahed Reza, independent director; Abdus Salam Murshedy, director; Rashida Ahmed, director; Sharmin Salam, director; Tanvir Ahmed, managing director; Barrister Shehrin Salam Oishee, deputy managing director; Sumayyah Ahmed, director; and Ishmam Salam, director.

Earlier, the HC on August 25 last year, passed an order to temporarily reconstitute the board of Envoy Textiles in response to the case filed by Abdus Salam Murshedy and his family members, who were shareholders and directors of the company.

The HC then made retired Justice of the Supreme Court (SC) Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury the chairman of the reconstituted board, while Kutubuddin Ahmed, also a director and the ex-chairman, was made the vice chairman.

The then reconstituted board also included Barrister Shafiqur Rahman, an advocate of the SC, member; Fakhruddin Ahmed, member; Abdus Salam Murshedy, director; Rashida Ahmed, director; and Sharmin Salam, director.

In 1984, Kutubuddin Ahmed together with Abdus Salam Murshedy, then a famous footballer of the Mohammedan Sporting Club, started their garment business, which is known as Envoy Group.

The case was lodged challenging some amendments to an Articles of Association of the company, the appointment of three additional board members, the appointment of an independent director, and a notice of the nomination and remuneration committee meeting.

In the last six months, Kutubuddin Ahmed, Tanvir Ahmed, and Envotech Aviation Limited (where Kutubuddin Ahmed and Tanvir Ahmed are directors), acquired a larger stake in Envoy Textiles, according to the DSE disclosure.

In April, 2023, Envoy Textiles announced that its new spinning unit went into commercial production.

The unit, with an annual production capacity of 4,200 metric tonnes of yarn, went into production on April 1.

Although the listed textile firm said the unit was scheduled to be completed by July 2022, it came online a bit late due to the delay in shipments of machinery by the suppliers caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, said the company.

The project is configured with European and Japanese machineries to have a state-of-the-art ring spinning production facility.

The textile firm said it planned to establish a spinning unit at its existing factory premises in Jamirdia of Bhaluka under Mymensingh district with a production capacity of 3,710 metric tonnes of cotton, polyester, and spandex core-spun yarn per year.

Its earnings per share (EPS) stood at Tk 0.75 for the third quarter of FY22, up from Tk 0.21 for the same period a year earlier. As on March 31, 2022, the company’s net asset value (NAV) per share stood at Tk 39.40 against Tk 37.79 as on June 30, 2021.

The company’s shares closed at Tk 43.90 each on the DSE trading floor on Tuesday.