State enterprises’ profit drops 21pc
The profits of state-owned enterprises plummeted in the last fiscal year as their incomes took a beating from the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The net profit of the companies and corporations dropped 21 per cent, or Tk 2,211 crore, year-on-year to Tk 8,499 crore in fiscal 2020-21.
It was Tk 10,710 crore in 2019-20, according to provisional data of the Bangladesh Economic Review 2021.
Sixteen SoEs, out of a total of 49 covered in the review, saw a decrease in the net profit in the last fiscal year. Four turned unprofitable.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's profit plunged 49 per cent to Tk 2,232 crore.
The profit of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh declined about 44 per cent to Tk 402 crore.
Due to the suspension of international travels and a decrease in domestic flights, the aviation administration faced a massive drop in the collection of revenue for services such as embarkation fees, aerodrome charges, route navigation charges, and other aeronautical and non-aeronautical charges, according to industry people.
The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, which sells basic commodities at subsidised rates, topped the list of the loss-making SOEs. Its loss swelled by more than 450 per cent to Tk 1,038 crore in FY21, according to the provisional data.
The losses stemmed from the sales of items such as rice at the subsidised rates throughout the pandemic to keep the market stable and help the low-income consumers, officials of the agency said.
The utility sector took a hit amid the pandemic as it profits were down 30 per cent to Tk 721 crore.
The profit of the Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) declined Tk 181 crore to Tk 759 crore and Chattogram Wasa's around Tk 5 crore to Tk 27 crore.
Bangladesh Power Development Board incurred a loss of Tk 129.98 crore after making a profit of Tk 3.93 crore in FY20.
The loss of the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) decreased by 51 per cent to Tk 380.16 crore.
"The fall in the loss was due to the closure of state-owned mills on July 1 last year by sending the workers to retirement under a golden handshake scheme. So, we did not have to pay the salaries to more than 30,000 workers," said Md Abdur Rouf, chairman of the BJMC.
The government shut 22 jute and three non-jute mills owned by the agency last year in a bid to end the continuing losses to the state exchequer.
The BJMC had unsold goods produced before the closure, and it has been selling them now. "So, the losses have narrowed significantly," Rouf said.
Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation's net profit rose 15 per cent to Tk 5,839 crore.
Bangladesh Sugar & Food Industries Corporation incurred a loss of around Tk 971 crore in the last fiscal year. It lost Tk 929 crore in FY20.
The profit of the Chittagong Port Authority plummeted 62 per cent to Tk 305 crore in FY21. It was Tk 807.63 crore in FY20.
The Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority took home Tk 4,062 crore and the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha Tk 210 crore in the last fiscal year.
The loss of the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation stood at Tk 92.86 crore, down from Tk 124.30 crore a year ago.