With a turnaround of the tourism and hospitality management industry after the pandemic backlash, state-controlled Bangladesh Services Limited (BSL) is on the way to recover losses it had incurred in the past many years.
The listed company which is the management authority of Hotel Inter-continental Dhaka, had no income from September 2014 to November 2018 due to the closure of the five-star hotel for its large-scale renovation.
The commercial operation of the country’s reputed five-star hotel was resumed in December 2018, but the financial state of BSL had not improved because the hospitality management industry had faced a serious blow due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But with the normalcy of the pandemic situation, the industry since the late last year started to recover.
Though BSL is still in losses, its performance is getting gradually improved.
The state-owned company made a net loss of Tk 0.68 lakh in the third quarter (January–March) of the just concluded fiscal year 2022-23 compared to the loss of Tk 20.92 crore in the same quarter a year back. The company said its net loss lowered by 96 per cent year-on-year in the last fiscal’s January–March quarter.
Moreover, the listed service-sector company also reported a 17.54 per cent year-on-year decrease in net loss in the first half of the fiscal 2022-23.
BSL posted a net loss of Tk 46.44 crore in H1 of the last fiscal year, much lower than the loss of Tk 56.32 crore in the same period a year earlier.
The company’s revenue also grew by 74.30 per cent to Tk 81.61 crore in the last fiscal’s July-December period from Tk 46.82 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.
A senior official concerned at BSL told The Business Post, “After the renovation of the hotel, our business was likely to improve, but that did not happen owing to the Covid-19 impact.”
“Despite lower earnings, our operating expenses were high because no hotel staff was laid off during the pandemic time. Salaries of all the workers were paid during that time, which we now have to adjust,” he added.
The government is currently holding a 99.68 per cent stake in the company, while general investors own only 0.13 per cent, or 1.21 lakh of its shares.
Foreign investors also hold 0.19 per cent of the company’s total shares.
The state-run company has not been paying any dividends to shareholders for years due to negative cashbooks.
The listed entity did not publish detailed financial statements in the last fiscal’s January-March quarter.
Though its income was 69 per cent higher in the third quarter of FY23 on a year-on-year basis, its operating costs were also 10 per cent up in the quarter on the same basis. It also witnessed higher tax payments and lower hall room booking in the recently ended quarter.
The company’s net loss in the third quarter of FY22 was Tk 20.97 crore, which was Tk 31.75 crore in the same quarter of FY21.
According to data, the hospitality company’s operating expenditure in the third quarter of FY22 was Tk 42.42 crore, compared to Tk 38.39 crore in the same period of the previous year.
The company posted a net loss of Tk 20.97 crore during the period, compared to the loss of Tk 31.75 crore in the third quarter of FY21. In fiscal 2021–22, BSL incurred a net loss of Tk 110.95 crore, and the loss was Tk 180.65 crore in the previous fiscal.
BSL in February 2012, had signed a management agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd (IHG) for a 30-year term for the management of its hotel in Dhaka with the option to renew the agreement for two terms of five years each.
BSL also operates the Balaka executive lounge at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and two other complexes.
