FE REPORT
Fine Foods Limited posted a 230 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit for the second quarter (Q2) of FY25, reaching Tk 16.6 million, riding on higher sales.
As a result, the company's earnings per share (EPS) stood at Tk 1.19 in the October-December quarter, up from Tk 0.36 in the same quarter a year before, according to a stock exchange filing on Thursday.
The company's half-yearly profit also jumped to Tk 25.29 million for July-December 2024, up from Tk 5.31 million in the same period of the previous year.
Despite reporting higher profit, its stock price plunged 5.6 per cent to Tk 207 on Thursday, making it the fifth highest loser on the Dhaka Stock Exchange. It also emerged as the top loser this week, shedding 18.7 per cent.
Fine Foods' sudden surge in profits is suspicious since it showed considerably higher quarterly earnings, compared to previous records, analysts said.
Fine Foods specializes in fish and fish product production for the Bangladeshi market. It also operates in fish spawn breeding, fingerling cultivation, fish meal, and fish oil production, along with cattle farming and timber tree plantation.
Listed in 2002, the company witnessed an extraordinary 1,242 per cent year-on-year jump in net profit to Tk 12.35 million in FY24.
However, its auditor raised concerns about the FY24 audited financial statements, questioning the accuracy of sales figures, fixed asset valuations, and inventory valuations.
However, the company declared a 10 per cent cash dividend for FY24, the highest in 12 years, leading to a 61 per cent surge in its share price within two months.
The company's share price, which stood at Tk 168 on November 11 last year, climbed to Tk 271 by January 6 this year. However, it has since declined by nearly 19 per cent, reaching Tk 219 as of last Wednesday. After the Q2 earnings announcement, the stock plunged to Tk 207 on Thursday.
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