Staff Correspondent
Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited's revenue grew by 9% to reach Tk2,401 crore in the first half of FY25.
Meanwhile, Beximco Limited incurred a loss of Tk356 crore in the first half of this fiscal year, according to its financial statement revealed on Tuesday.
During the period, Beximco Pharma's profit jumped by 18% to Tk353.50 crore compared to the previous year at the same time.
At the end of the first half, its earnings per share stood at Tk7.87.
Meanwhile, in the October to December quarter, its revenue jumped by 13% to Tk1,230 crore, and profit rose by 28% to Tk184 crore.
During the period, Beximco Ltd revenue dropped by 71% to Tk415 crore compared to the previous year at the same time. At the end of the first half, its loss per share stood at Tk3.78.
Meanwhile, in the October-December quarter, its revenue fell by 87% to Tk115 crore, and it incurred a loss of Tk246 crore.
The company said in its report that during the period the production of the company was almost shut down due to the non-availability of banking facilities.
No banks opened any LCs from August; moreover, stocks of fabrics and yarns that could not be used had to be sold below cost price, as the garment factories were also shut down, the report added.
Despite the decline in earnings, Beximco reported a notable improvement in its net operating cash flow per share, which rose to Tk 12.58 for the six-month period, up from Tk 1.44 in the previous year.
Beximco attributed the negative financial results to a near-total production shutdown, as banks stopped opening letters of credit from August 2024, making it impossible to procure raw materials.
Additionally, the company was forced to sell fabric and yarn stocks below cost, as garment factories remained non-operational.
On Tuesday, the government has decided to sell the pledged shares of two Beximco Group entities to clear the unpaid wages of workers in 16 factories of the conglomerate.
The stock market regulator, the Bangladesh Security Exchange Commission (BSEC), and the Financial Institutions Division (FID) will take the initiative to sell off the pledged shares of Beximco Pharmaceuticals and Shinepukur Ceramics within the next month.
Labour and Employment Adviser Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain disclosed the information at a press briefing on Tuesday after a meeting of the advisory council committee on Beximco Industrial Park at the conference room of the shipping ministry at the Bangladesh Secretariat.
The adviser said, "Some Tk500-600 crore will be needed to clear the salaries and other dues of the employees. That money will be arranged by selling these shares."
"An investigation will be conducted into how 16 factories in Beximco's textile and apparel sector took loans of Tk28,544 crore from different banks," he added.
He also said this investigation will also be completed by February.
"Beximco Limited's loan scandal has surpassed the scandal of the Bangladesh Bank reserves heist," he added.
In the last week, the laid-off workers and employees of 16 Beximco textile and garment units Thursday urged the government to reopen the factories and reinstate their jobs.
They made the demand at a press conference at the Capital Market Journalists' Forum (CMJF) office in Dhaka.
The employees demanded that the government facilitate the opening of letters of credit so that the mills can import raw materials, operate the factories, and repay bank loans.
"The owners of the group are eager to resume operations of the 16 textile and garment factories," said Md Abdul Kaium, head of personnel administration at Beximco Garment Division, at the press conference.
Meanwhile, after the press conference, on Thursday, Labour Adviser M Sakhawat Hussain said at a press conference at the secretariat in Dhaka that the reopening of 16 textile and garment factories of Beximco Group is not possible now, as the group has a high amount of default loans.