The straggling Standard Ceramic Industries suffered a loss of Tk 47 million in the first quarter (Q1) of the current fiscal year, owing to the closure of its factory amid adverse economic conditions.
The tableware manufacturer endured a loss of Tk 49 million in the same quarter the year before, according to the company's unaudited financial statements published on Thursday.
As a result, the company's earnings per share (EPS) stood at Tk 7.14 in the negative for July-September this year, as against Tk 7.34 in the negative for the same quarter of the previous year.
Standard Ceramic's factory closed in January 2024 and remained so till date due to the gas crisis. There was no revenue during the period, said the company in its earnings note. But it paid salaries and bore other fixed costs.
The net asset value, which refers to the excess of assets over total liabilities, was Tk 44.98 in the negative per share as of September last year, which had been Tk 37.84 in the negative in June last year.
Following the latest disclosure, the stock dropped 0.42 per cent to Tk 69.8 per share on Thursday on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.
Annual financial performance
The ceramic manufacturer has been suffering losses for the past three financial years, owing to the cumulative effect of Covid-19, Russia-Ukraine war and higher cost of imported raw materials.
The company made an aggregate loss of Tk 291 million in the three financial years through FY24.
The board of directors declared no dividend for the years -- FY22 to FY24. The prime bourse sent the company to "Z" category in February last year as it failed to pay dividend to its shareholders.
The company disbursed 1 per cent cash dividend for FY21.
There are five ceramics manufacturers listed in the stock market. Of them, RAK Ceramics and Shinepukur Ceramics also experienced losses in the first quarter through September of FY25 while profit of Monno Ceramic and Fu-Wang Ceramic tumbled 89 per cent and 22 per cent year-on-year through September last year.
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