LafargeHolcim’s profit drops for first time since 2022's Q1

LafargeHolcim Bangladesh's quarterly turnover and profits dropped for the first time since the January-March quarter of 2022 mainly due to shrinking demand amid high inflationary pressure.

The listed multinational cement producer's turnover fell 3 percent year-on-year to Tk 825 crore in the January-March quarter of 2024 when the profits slipped 15 percent year-on-year to Tk 162 crore, according to the first quarterly report of the company published today.

In a press release issued today, the company said the rest of 2024 will be challenging due to the ongoing inflation and persisting foreign exchange pressure.

The construction sector is going through a challenging time with a consistently high inflationary environment, which has impacted cement consumption, said LafargeHolcim Bangladesh's CEO Iqbal Chowdhury.

"Despite that, we are optimistic and well poised to continuously deliver strong performance with leading industry margin."

Moreover, the cement maker has continued its focus on the expansion of sales channel, increase aggregate business, launch new products and improve market presence to ensure stronger result in the next quarter, he said.

The company has entered into the bricks and blocks market by launching Holcim Blocks, which is environment-friendly and has a huge growth potential, Chowdhury said.

The company's earnings per share was Tk 1.4 in the first quarter of 2024, down from Tk 1.64 in the same period of 2023.

Stock price of the company fell by 0.61 percent from the previous day to Tk 65 at the Dhaka Stock Exchange today.

LafargeHolcim Bangladesh had extended 50 percent cash dividend to its shareholders for 2023.