Reckitt Benckiser (Bangladesh) reported a profit of Tk 151.7 million for January-March this year, almost the same as for the same quarter last year, despite a decline in sales revenue.
The UK-based multinational company that sells health and hygiene-related products earned revenue of Tk 1.32 billion in Q1 this year, down from Tk 1.37 billion a year ago.
Its earnings per share stood at Tk 32.10 for the quarter, slightly down from Tk 32.18 for the same quarter of the year before, according to its financial statements published on Thursday.
The company managed to offset some of the costs by increasing product prices, but higher operating costs and increased finance expenses eroded the profit.
Although the cost of sales dropped 5 per cent to Tk 691 million during the quarter, finance expenses jumped almost 28 per cent to Tk 3.90 million.
The cost of sales, which includes all associated costs to produce products, stood at Tk 691 million for the January-March quarter this year, which was 52 per cent of the total sales, down from 53 per cent of the sales revenue in the same quarter a year ago.
Its net operating cash flow per share has fallen to Tk 69.4 from Tk 75.14 due to higher payment to suppliers.
Reckitt Benckiser had seen its business growth accelerate after the Covid outbreak when the use of hygiene products shot up in measures to contain the spread of the Coronavirus.
Its top-selling products are meant for hygiene, such as Dettol and Harpic. They are also household names in the particular areas.
As the pandemic waned, the demand for hygiene products fell while the inflationary pressure squeezed people's capacity to buy even essential items.
High inflation affected consumption patterns. Many people shifted from branded products to non-branded ones to cope with higher expenses.
Its share trading was suspended on Thursday for it was the record date. The stock was priced at Tk 4692.10 per share, the second highest after SME stock Yusuf Floor.
Meanwhile, Reckitt declared the lowest dividend in a decade for 2023, despite more than 24 per cent year-on-year growth in profit to Tk 820 million.
The board of directors cut cash dividends sharply to 550 per cent for 2023 from 980 per cent for 2022.
Reckitt declared the highest cash dividends among the listed firms for three years in a row since 2019, luring investors. That resulted in the share price going through the roof.
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