Walton Hi-Tech Industries PLC suffered losses in the July-September quarter owing to the price hike of materials, higher freight costs, vulnerable market conditions and the devaluation of the taka against foreign currencies.

The electronics giant posted a Tk 46.05 crore loss in the first quarter of 2022, against a profit of Tk 281.12 crore during the identical three-month period a year earlier.

Thus, it reported negative earnings per share (EPS) of Tk 1.52 for July-September against Tk 9.28 during the same month quarter a year earlier, according to the unaudited financial statements.

 The EPS decreased mainly due to the price hike of materials, freight cost, vulnerable market conditions and the devaluation of the taka against foreign currencies, especially the US dollar, said Walton in a filing on the Dhaka Stock Exchange today.

In addition, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has hampered the prospects of the post-pandemic recovery and transported the new scenario of continuous higher inflation around the globe that has led to the fall in the purchasing capacity of consumers and adversely influenced the overall profitability of the company, it said.

The net operating cash flow per share surged to Tk 36.44 in July-September from Tk 4.33 a year earlier.

The net asset value per share without revaluation was Tk 214.75 on September 30 and Tk 231.34 on June 30. The NAV per share with revaluation was Tk 318.06 on September 30 and Tk 334.68 on June 30.