Bata Shoe Company (Bangladesh) Ltd, the country’s leading footwear manufacturer, has reported a 31.34 per cent rise in net profit in the first six months (January–June) of the current year compared to that in the same period last year.
As per its unaudited financial report, the publicly traded multinational company’s net profit rose to Tk 43.87 crore in the first six months of 2023 from Tk 33.40 crore in the same period one year ago.
Its earnings increased significantly year-on-year due mainly to efficient cost management, which resulted in better profitability during the first half of the current year, the company said on Tuesday.
Market insiders said the multinational shoe maker’s profit increased significantly in H1 this year owing to revenue growth, driven by school and winter-season business and other promotional operations.
According to the company’s financial statement, its earnings per share (EPS) jumped to Tk 32.07 in the January-June period of 2023 from Tk 24.41 for the same period last year.
The multinational’s first half yearly revenue rose to Tk 566 crore this year from Tk 528 crore in the first six months of 2022.
Meanwhile, in the April-June quarter of 2023, the shoe maker’s profit rose by 15 per cent to Tk 30 crore, while its sales were up 2.5 per cent to Tk 321 crore.
The company’s net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) was Tk 16.64 for January–June 2023 against Tk 28.86 for the same period last year. Its net asset value (NAV) per share stood at Tk 284.23 as on June 30, 2023, which was Tk 252.16 till December 31, 2022.
The NOCFPS got decreased due to cash payments to suppliers and contractors for goods and services being affected by a significant increase in the foreign exchange rate, which resulted in higher costs of materials and services during this period and lower operating cash flow for the business, the company said.
The listed company’s net profit rose to Tk 13.63 crore in the first quarter of 2023 from Tk 6.85 crore in the same period last year, its unaudited financial report shows.
Bata Shoe Company (Bangladesh) also posted its revenue at Tk 245 crore in the first three months of the current year, up from Tk 214 crore in the same period of 2022.
As per unaudited financial statements, its earnings per share were Tk 9.96 in the January-March period this year against Tk 5.01 during the same period last year.
Its net operating cash flow per share was Tk 1.73 in the January-March period of 2023 against Tk 10.23 for the same period of 2022. The company’s net asset value (NAV) per share was Tk 262.12 as on March 31, 2023, which was Tk 252.16 till March 31, 2022.
Bata Shoe had posted an annual profit in 2022 after two consecutive years of losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Its earnings per share stood at Tk 29.98 by the end of 2022, which were per share losses of Tk 5.01 and Tk 96.94 in the previous two years, respectively.
The shoemaker paid a total of 365 per cent cash dividends to its shareholders for the year ended on December 31, 2022.
The company, which got listed on the stock market in 1985, closed its shares on Tuesday at Tk 999.50 per share on the DSE trading floor, which was Tk 1000.40 in the previous trading session.
Bata Shoe Company was founded in 1894 by Czech businessman Tomas Bata in the city of Zlin, in what was then Czechoslovakia.
In Bangladesh, Bata started its operation in 1962. Currently, Bata Shoe Company (Bangladesh) Limited operates two manufacturing facilities—one in Tongi and the other in Dhamrai.
With a production capacity of 160,000 pairs of shoes daily, the company’s annual shoe sales currently stand at about 30 million pairs.
