Although it has been inoperative for a long period, stocks of Northern Jute Manufacturing Company are currently being traded at over a price level of Tk 200 each.
When stocks of many blue-chip companies have been stuck at the floor price for a long period, stocks of Northern Jute Manufacturing Company are trading at such lucrative price tag.
The company's share price closed at Tk 200.10 each on Sunday. The company’s highest share price was Tk 356 each in the last one year.
With an authorized capital of Tk 10 crore, the company’s paid up capital is Tk 2 crore.
On September 4, an inspection team of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) visited the company’s factory and found no production activity there, as per a DSE filing posted on Sunday.
They went to the company’s factory in Bisic Industrial Estate in Kushtia.
Also, when the inspection team of the Dhaka Stock Exchange visited the company's Dhaka office, it found that another company named OMC Limited was being run there, which was not listed with the Stock market, the DSE disclosure read.
It is suspected that the listed entity has remained closed for more than three years since it has disclosed no financial data in this period.
The company has released its latest financial report for the financial year 2019–20.
Shahadat Hossain Patwary, the company secretary, could not be reached for a comment.
The DSE last month separated out 42 companies, including Northern Jute, for inspection of physical entities for their failure to meet one or more regulatory obligations - holding annual general meetings, giving out dividends as declared, or paying listing fees.
In the first phase, the DSE is inspecting 14 companies, aiming to expose the real scenario of the companies to investors.
Zaheen Spinning, Central Pharmaceuticals, Dulamia Cotton Spinning Mills, Familytex (BD), Khan Brother PP Woven Bag Industries, Regent Textile Mills, The Dacca Dyeing, Usmania Glass Sheet Factory, and Zahintex Industries are among the additional thirteen Companies.
Some company hasn't been in business for years and hasn't declared dividends, but they haven't informed those happenings of their shareholders in any way.
Due to non-compliance, the DSE also relegated some enterprises to the Z category.
In comparison to a profit of Tk 1.53 crore in the same quarter a year before, Northern Jute saw a net loss of Tk 1.33 crore in July–September quarter of 2020.
The company also failed to declare dividend since 2020.
The sponsor-directors jointly hold 15.09 per cent of the company’s total shares as on January 30, 2022, which fell far short of the regulatory requirement of 30 per cent. The remaining 84.91 per cent shares are owned by the general public.
Since the chairman of Northern Jute, Uzzal Kumar Nandi, is also the chairman of People's Leasing and Financial Services (PLFS), the decision of discontinuation of Northern Jute’s production could be considered as a consequence.
PLFS went into liquidation in July 2019 due to its weak financial situation.
