Eastern Housing Limited (EHL), a leading real estate company in Bangladesh, has posted a 3.83 per cent higher profit in the first six months (H1) of FY2023-24, compared to the same period of FY2022-23, thanks to the earnings from an apartment project that started last year.
According to a company filing on the DSE website on Thursday, the real estate firm posted a net profit of Tk 30.31 crore for the July-December period of FY24 — against Tk 29.17 crore in net profit posted during the same period of FY23.
In terms of profit growth, the company has earned Tk 30 crore from an apartment building project of the previous year.
The listed firm's earnings per share (EPS) stood at Tk 3.25 for the Jul–Dec period of 2023 against Tk 3.13 for the same period of 2022.
Meanwhile, the firm’s net asset value (NAV) per share stood at Tk 80.83 as of Jul’22–Dec’22 and its net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) amounted to Tk 4.29 on June 30, 2023.
Eastern Housing stated that the reason behind the negative NOCFPS was due to collection against plot sales, which significantly dropped because of registration difficulties.
The real estate firm’s revenue in the first six months of FY24 grew by 2.62 per cent compared to the growth of the same period of the last fiscal.
According to the company's financial statement, it earned a total revenue of some Tk 104.14 crore during the Jul’23–Dec’23 period against the total revenue of Tk 101.48 crore during the Jul’2–Dec’22.
The firm is currently engaged in the construction of seven apartment projects in various areas of Dhaka, including a nearly finished luxury project in Gulshan, an upcoming luxury project in Dhanmondi, and a mega project with some 261 apartments in Uttarkhan, Chalaban.
These are expected to significantly boost EHL's revenue from apartment sales upon completion, according to EBL Securities, a brokerage house which recently published an equity note.
EHL currently has some 226 ongoing land cases, centred on 250 acres of land with an estimated value of approximately Tk 100 crore.
Notably, during FY23, eight of these cases were successfully resolved in EHL's favour, said EBL Securities.
Consequently, the favourable disposition of these cases is expected to exert a positive influence on the company's earnings in the coming period, the stock broker added.
The company logged Tk 68.80 crore in net profit in FY23 which was the highest over six years.
In FY22, the company's net profit surged by 48 per cent to Tk 54.9 crore. The listed real estate firm’s revenue rose to Tk 331 crore in FY22 from Tk 264 crore in the previous fiscal.
According to industry insiders, the company is regular in paying dividends to its shareholders, having declared a minimum of 15 per cent in cash dividends over the past 5 years, with dividend yields ranging from 2.4 per cent to 3.9 per cent.
Moreover, EHL paid its shareholders a 25 per cent cash dividend for the most recent fiscal which ended on June 30, 2023.
EHL’s share prices closed at Tk 98.20 each on Thursday’s trading floor of the Dhaka Stock Exchange. With a market capitalisation of Tk 900 crore, the company has a paid-up capital of Tk 93.3 crore and a surplus reserve of Tk 654 crore.
Incorporated in 1964, Eastern Housing Limited raised capital with an overwhelmingly subscribed IPO of shares and debentures, with a prospectus issued in July 1994.
