Heidelberg Bangladesh’s sales drop, but profit rises

HeidelbergCement Bangladesh Ltd posted a 1.6 percent rise in profits despite experiencing a 16 percent year-on-year drop in sales in the first three months of 2024 thanks to decreases in administration and distribution costs along with selling expenses.

The multinational company made a profit of Tk 39.32 crore in the January-March quarter of 2024, up from Tk 38.69 crore in the same period previous year, according to its unaudited financial statements published today.

The Bangladesh chapter of the cement manufacturer sold Tk 486.83 crore worth of goods in the three months to March this year, which was Tk 583.2 crore in the same period previous year.

In the three months, the company's warehousing, distribution and selling expenses reduced to Tk 10.71 crore in 2024, which was Tk 12.55 crore in the previous year.

Meanwhile, its administrative cost declined by 11 percent year-on-year to Tk 16 crore in the first quarter of the current year.

As a result, its earnings per share hit Tk 6.96 up from Tk 6.85 in the identical periods of two consecutive years, according to HeidelbergCement Bangladesh's disclosure shared on the website of the Dhaka Stock Exchange today.

Its net asset value per share was Tk 74.16 as on March 31 of 2024, up from Tk 67.2 as on December 31 of 2023.

Heidelberg's shares ended today at Tk 229.3 today, posting a 1.12 percent fall from the previous day.

In 1998, Heidelberg Cement Group entered Bangladesh by setting up a floating terminal with onboard packing facilities in the port of Chattogram and by distributing the cement to the key markets of Dhaka and Chattogram.

In 1999, the Group further strengthened its position in Bangladesh and built a greenfield manufacturing plant near Dhaka namely "Scan Cement International Limited" with an installed capacity of 0.75 million tonnes per year.

In 2000, HeidelbergCement Group bought a minority position in a Chattogram-based company namely "Chittagong Cement Clinker Grinding Co. Limited" and later quickly acquired its controlling stake.

In 2003, the company's name was changed to HeidelbergCement Bangladesh Limited.

Now the annual production capacity of the company stands at 24 lakh tonnes.