Standard Ceramic’s losses mount as production, sales drop

Standard Ceramic Industries, a publicly traded ceramic maker, reported a 389 per cent higher loss in the July–March period of the fiscal year 2022-23, thanks to high domestic inflation and a downward global economic situation.

The company reported Tk 4.10 crore in net loss in the first nine month of FY23, against the loss of Tk 1.42 crore in the same period the year before, as per a regulatory filing posted on the DSE website on Sunday.

During the period, the company’s earnings per share (EPS) was Tk 6.36 negative against Tk 2.20 negative for July–March of FY22.

The company posted this big loss due to the global economic volatility amid the Russia-Ukraine war, as costly US dollar made raw materials prices expensive in the global market, it said.

The decreased productions and sales resulted in the fall in its EPS, the company stated.

The company’s EPS was Tk 2.03 negative for January-March of FY23 against Tk 0.10 for January-March of FY22.

The company’s net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) stood at Tk 2.83 negative for the July-March period of FY23 against Tk 0.87 for the same period of the previous fiscal.

Its net asset value (NAV) per share stood at Tk 2.15 negative as on March 2023 which was Tk 6.66 till June 2022.

The net operating cash flow per share fell owing to a fall in the collection (advance) against sales and an increase in payment costs to suppliers, the company stated in its Q3 financial report.

The ceramic maker’s Gazipur-based factory has a manufacturing capacity of 47,000 assorted pieces or 13.1 tonnes of tableware per day, according to company data.

It mainly supplies finished ceramic products  in the domestic markets.

The company has a paid-up capital of Tk 6.46 crore.

Sponsors-directors held a 30.5 per cent stake in the company, while institutional investors owned 4.43 per cent, and the general public 65.07 per cent, as on July 2023.

The company recommended no dividend for the fiscal year 2021-22.

Standard Ceramic shares traded at Tk 108.70 per share on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on Sunday.