Crown cement’s profit falls despite surge in second quarter earnings

Crown Cement Ltd said its earnings fell in the first half of the financial year 2022-23 even though it posted a 4.33 times increase in its income in the October-December quarter.

The cement maker said although its revenue increased in the second quarter, it could not recover from the unprecedented foreign exchange loss incurred because of the increased cost of the US dollar.

Its Earnings Per Share (EPS) stood at Tk 0.63 in July-December 2022, down 15 per cent from Tk 0.75 in the same period a year ago, said the company in a posting at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).

The company recorded Tk 0.99 earnings per share in the October-December period of 2022 from Tk 0.21 EPS in the same period a year back.

Its net operating cash flow per share also decreased by 37.86 per cent due to an increase in suppliers' payments and advance payments made to the bank against Letters of Credit.