Unilever profit falls 26pc in Q2
Despite higher sales, profits of Unilever Consumer Care, formerly known as GlaxoSmithKline, dropped in the April-June period of 2021 as duty on raw materials rose and bank interest income fell.
The multinational company's sales rose 8 per cent to Tk 89.58 crore in the second quarter of the year. However, its profits were down 26 per cent to Tk 10 crore from Tk 13.7 crore year-on-year.
Unilever is one of the world's leading consumer goods companies, making and selling nutrition, hygiene and personal care products under around 400 brands in more than 190 countries.
In the half yearly, its sales increased 11 per cent to Tk 20 crore. However, profits dropped 29 per cent to Tk 22.38 crore.
The profit fall mainly resulted from a lower gross margin due to a duty increase in dry mix ingredients (DMI) from 15 per cent to 25 per cent and significant reduction in finance income, said the company in its financial highlights.
Yesterday, the financial statements were approved at its board meeting.
In the first half of the year, its net finance income nosedived 87 per cent to Tk 1.31 crore from Tk 10.77 crore a year earlier.
The finance income dropped as banks offered lower interest rate on bank deposits, clarified the company.
From April 1, 2020, scheduled banks implemented a single digit interest rate of 9 per cent for all kinds of loans and 6 per cent on deposits.
Abiding by the central bank order, they have been offering the lower rate.
Net operating cash flow per share increased by 146 per cent in the half yearly period for a change in its distribution model following the acquisition by Unilever, with a majority of sales done are on a cash basis, added Unilever Consumer Care.
Yesterday, stocks of Unilever Consumer Care closed 0.36 per cent higher at Tk 2,922 at Dhaka Stock Exchange.
Earlier in 2018, GSK Bangladesh, a subsidiary of British multinational GSK Plc, shuttered its 60-year-old pharmaceuticals business in Bangladesh.
Last year, Unilever bought more than 82 per cent of GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) health food and drinks business in Bangladesh from Setfirst, a corporate director of the company.
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