Square Pharma going for Tk 400cr expansion

Square Pharmaceuticals PLC, the country's biggest drug maker, has announced its plan to invest Tk 400 crore for expansion.

The funds would be used for BMRE (Balancing, Modernisation, Rehabilitation and Expansion), and the purchase of capital machinery and land for the future expansion of its business, according to a filing on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). 

The board of Square Pharmaceuticals approved the investment decision at a meeting yesterday, where it also recommended a 105 percent cash dividend for the shareholders for the year that ended on
June 30.

Operational since 1958, Square Pharma is the flagship company of one of the leading conglomerates in Bangladesh, Square Group. It produces a vast range of drugs for both local and international markets.

In FY23, it clocked a revenue of Tk 1,898 crore, registering a year-on-year growth of 4.5 percent from Tk 1,819 crore in the previous year.

Profits stood at Tk 1,897.89 crore in the last financial year, up 4.54 percent year-on-year from Tk 1,815.45 crore in FY22. Thus, earnings per share increased to Tk 21.41 from Tk 20.48, the filing said.

Shares of Square Pharma rose 0.19 percent to Tk 210.30 on the DSE yesterday.

Square Group's another company Square Textiles PLC reported a 41 percent decline in its profit in FY23 owing to an increased cost of production and the sharp depreciation of the taka against the US dollar.

As such, the company recorded a Tk 114.6 crore profit in the financial year, down from Tk 195.8 crore a year ago. Therefore, the EPS plunged to Tk 5.81 from Tk 9.93.

Shares of Square Textiles closed at Tk 67.50, unchanged from a day earlier.

Its board recommended a 30 percent cash dividend for FY23 and approved a Tk 45 crore for BMRE purposes.

Square Textiles is one of the largest yarn producers in Bangladesh and makes 100 percent export-oriented viscose, tencel, modal and cotton, boasting a capacity of producing around 110 tonnes of textile raw materials a day.