On Monday, ACI recommended 100% cash and 15% stock dividend. However, its share declined 3.70% or Tk8.80 at Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) after the announcement
Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI) Limited, a company listed on local bourses, has reported negative Tk14.87 earnings per share (EPS), which was Tk10.36 last year.
On Monday, ACI recommended 100% cash and 15% stock dividend. However, its share declined 3.70% or Tk8.80 at Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) after the announcement.
The board of directors of the company recommended dividend for the year that ended on June 30, 2019.
The final approval of the dividend will come at the annual general meeting (AGM) to be held on December 23 at Officers Club, Bailey Road in the capital. The record date is December 3, 2019.
ACI’s subsidiary super shop ‘Shwapno’ has been running at a loss since its inception in 2008. In the 2017-18 fiscal year, it incurred a loss of Tk135 crore, and its accumulated losses in the year stood at Tk891 crore.
Talking to this correspondent, a stock broker said that ACI Logistics Limited (Shwapno), subsidiary of ACI Limited, was incurring losses and gobbling up the profits of its parent company.
ACI Limited Company Secretary Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman told Dhaka Tribune: “Our income has decreased due to high interest rate of bank, not only for the super shop’s losses.”
Losing money for a decade since its inception in 2008, Shwapno — comprising 76% of ACI Logistics — has weighed on the profitability of ACI Ltd, registering a loss for the parent company as a consequence. The situation has aggrieved ACI shareholders.
The ACI was listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange in 1976. The pharma sector company belongs to the “A” category. The company’s paid-up capital is Tk49 crore.
The company disbursed 115% cash and 3.50% stock dividend for the year that ended on June 30, 2018. The sponsor-directors own 35.28% stake in the company, while the institutional investors own 40.72% and the general public 24%.
Previously, on February 12, DSE launched a five-member inquiry committee, led by Justice Siddiqur Rahman Miah, to investigate why Shwapno, a chain super shop brand owned by ACI, was incurring huge losses.
(DT)