The recent fire at the factory of Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd at Kaliakoir will reduce the company's revenue and profit by about Tk 500 million and Tk 80 million respectively, the company claimed.
A fire broke out in the newly-introduced large volume Parenteral (LVP) Plants at the factory promises at Kaliakoir in Gazipur on May 23 and came under control after eleven hours of effort, said the company in a filing with the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on Wednesday.
The fire caused the hampering of production of 50 products, according to the company.
"The ascertainment of damage in the fire is under active security by the tripartite team comprising of the experts of the company, firefighting units, and surveyors of insurance companies," said the company.
The fire broke out at about 12.00 noon and was brought under control at about 11.00pm.
However, the company said, the large parenteral plants are fully insured under the coverage of the industrial risk insurance policy, and restoring the damaged facility and production may take two to three years.
The fire news, however, could not put a negative impact on the company's share price. The leading drug maker's stock price closed at Tk 211.50 on Wednesday, rising 0.19 per cent over the previous day.
The listed drug maker's consolidated profits surged 22 per cent in the first nine months of the current financial year of 2021-22 due to higher sales.
The company's profit stood at Tk 14.21 billion in the period from July 2021 to March 2022 whereas it was Tk 11.63 billion in the same period of the previous year.
Accordingly, its earnings per share (EPS) rose to Tk 16.03 for July 2021 to March 2022 as against Tk 13.12 in the same period last fiscal year.
"The consolidated EPS increased due to higher sales revenue along with proficient usage of materials that led to increased gross profit for the reporting period," according to the company.
The drug maker witnessed net sales of Tk 43.72 billion in the nine-month period of the current financial year, around 16 per cent higher year-on-year.
Favourable movement in foreign exchange transactions has also added in increased net operating profit. The reduced corporate tax rate for the period resulted in the increment of EPS, said the company.
Listed in 1995, the company's paid-up capital is Tk 8.86 billion while authorised capital is Tk 10 billion and total number of securities is Tk 886.45 million.
Sponsors hold 34.67 per cent stakes in the company, institutions 14.49 per cent, foreign investors 14.20 per cent and the general public 36.64 per cent as of April 30, 2022, according to DSE data.
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