Reckitt Benckiser's profit fell 3.4 per cent year-on-year to Tk 142 million in the second quarter through June this year owing to higher operating expenses.
Its earnings per share stood at Tk 30.12 in the quarter, slightly down from Tk 31.11 in the same quarter the year before, according to un-audited financial statements published on Wednesday.
The UK-based multinational firm that sells health and hygiene-related products, however, saw sales grow almost 3 per cent year-on-year to Tk 1.35 billion in April-June. But higher costs of sales and increased net operating expenses eroded the bottom-line growth.
The cost of sales was up 3 per cent year-on-year to Tk 694 million in the April-June quarter this year, while net operating costs rose 13 per cent to Tk 458 million.
Its half-yearly profit also fell slightly by 1.67 per cent year-on-year to Tk 294 million while sales remained almost the same year-on-year.
The net operating cash flow per share was Tk 18.9 in the negative for January-June this year, as opposed to Tk 84.14 in the same period last year.
"We have disbursed the last four years' royalty amount worth Tk 756 million to Reckitt Benckiser Heath Ltd, UK in June this year. As a result, net operating cash flow per share went down negative," said the company in its earnings note.
The demand for hygiene products diminished due to inflationary pressure squeezing people's capacity to buy even essential items.
High inflation affected consumption patterns. Many people have shifted from branded products to non-branded ones to cope with higher expenses.
Reckitt Benckiser's annual profit jumped 24 per cent year-on-year to Tk 820 million in 2023. Despite the increased profit, the company declared 550 per cent cash dividends for 2023, lowest in a decade.
It had given the highest cash dividends among listed companies for the three years to 2021. It paid a record 1,650 per cent cash dividend for 2021. That resulted in the share price going through the roof.
The stock fell 2.55 per cent to Tk 4,767.7 per share on Wednesday, remaining the most-valued stock in the market.
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