Marico’s sales, profit growth slows
Marico Bangladesh Ltd’s sales growth saw a significant decrease, nearly halving from the previous year’s figures for the April to December period. This impacted profits as inflation reduced consumer purchasing power.
The multinational FMCG company’s financial year starts on April 1 and recorded a 8.22% growth in sales for the April to December period, compared to the 15% growth seen in the same nine months the previous year. The slowdown in sales growth led to a slowdown in profit growth.
The profits of the publicly traded company increased by 4.9% to reach Tk 297 crore in the first nine months of 2022-23, compared to a surge of 13.6% to Tk 283 crore in the same period in the previous fiscal year.
As a result, Marico Bangladesh’s earnings per share (EPS) rose from Tk 90.08 in FY22 to Tk 94.45 in April-December of FY23. The financial statements also showed that in the last quarter of the year, the EPS was Tk 30.93, higher than the Tk 27.35 recorded in the same period the previous year.
“The profit and sales growth slowed as inflation increased and people’s buying capacity was impacted,” said Md Sahabuddin, company secretary of Marico Bangladesh.
“The company witnessed 8.22 per cent growth in sales between April and December against more than 15 per cent in the same period a year earlier”
“As we don’t produce basic goods, sales were slightly impacted owing to higher inflation.”
Since March, Bangladesh has experienced a high level of inflation as a result of a sharp increase in commodity prices due to increased global demand following the end of Covid-19 impacts and the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, inflation reached 8.71 per cent in December. Despite these challenges, Marico’s profits and sales have risen due to efficient management and ongoing efforts to reduce costs.
Sahabuddin noted that between April and December, raw material costs were higher as the global market price increased and the local currency weakened against the US dollar.
The Taka declined 25% against the US dollar due to depleted foreign currency reserves and higher import bills, per Bangladesh Bank data.
Marico’s cost of goods sold was 48.7% of total sales in April-December, up from 45% in the same period the previous year. The company has a paid-up capital of Tk 31.5 crore. The net operating cash flow per share increased from Tk 101.75 to Tk 123.01 in 9 months to Dec. The net asset value per share rose to Tk 84.81 on Dec 31, 2022 from Tk 82.04 on the same day in 2021.
Marico Bangladesh’s shares remained unchanged at Tk 2,421.50 on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.
