Steel cos face set back in sales

Construction works reduced significantly

Mahfuja Mukul : Political unrest and economic recession are affecting all the productive sectors of the country. In the second half of last year, his influence increased a lot. Besides, the slowdown in the housing sector and the government’s development projects slowed down the sales of most of the steel and re-rolling companies listed in the stock market. As a result, the income of the companies has also decreased. However, due to the high price of the rod, their profits increased slightly during this period.
Analyzing the financial reports of six rod manufacturing companies active in the engineering sector listed in the capital markets, the data is available. In this case, out of six companies, five of the rod sales decreased in the first half of the current financial year (July-December).
However, the EPS (earnings per share) of four companies increased during this period. However, the sales of products of companies other than those listed also declined in the first half of the current financial year. General Secretary of Bangladesh Steel Manufacturers Association (BSMA) Suman Chowdhury told in this regard that due to the dollar shortage in the country, companies are facing problems in opening new loans. And during the elections, the demand for rods and steel products was low as the work of the government’s major development projects was stopped. So, the sales of the companies have decreased. Because of this, there was some slowdown in the business of most of the companies in the first half of the current financial year.
According to the data, listed company Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills sold rods and steel products worth Tk 3,995 crore in the first six months of the current financial year. In the same period of 2022, Tk 4,367 crores were sold. According to this, the company’s sales in the first six months of the current financial year have decreased by Tk 372 crore. At the time of discussion, the cost of production of the company’s products was Tk 3,483 crores.
In the last six months, the company’s EPS stood at Tk 6.25, which was negative at Tk 3.69 during the same period in 2022. And on 31 December 2023, the NAVPS of the company stood at Tk 144.22, which was Tk 140.46 on 30 June 2023.
BSRM Steels sold rods and steel products worth Tk 3,631 crore in 6 months (July-Dec’23), which was Tk 3,702 crore during the same period in 2022. According to this, the sales decreased by Tk 71 crores. During the discussion period, the production of the company’s products has cost Tk 3,130 crores. In the first six months of the current financial year, the company’s EPS stood at Tk 4.11, which was 24 paisa in the same period of 2022. And on December 31, 2023, the NAVPS of the company was Tk 74.94, at the end of the previous quarter (June 30, 2023) it was Tk 73.32.
S Alam Cold Rolled Steels had product sales of Tk 223 crore in the last 6 months of 2023 (July-December), as against Tk 258 crore in the same period last year. According to this, the company’s sales have decreased by about Tk 35 crore. In the first six months of the current financial year, the company’s EPS stood at 9 paise, which was 30 paise in the same period of 2022. And on 31 December 2023, the NAVPS of the company stood at Tk 18.64, which was Tk 18.88 on 30 June 2023.
GPH Steel recorded a turnover of Tk 2,815 crore in the last 6 months of 2023 (July-December), which was Tk 2,822 crore in the same period of 2022. The company’s EPS for the six months of 2023 stood at 32 paise, which was a negative of Tk1.76 in the same period of 2022. And on 31 December 2023, the NAVPS of the company stood at Tk 50.80, which was Tk 53.08 on 30 June 2023.
Dominage Steel Building Systems reported EPS of 2 paise in the last six months (July-December) of 2023, as against 29 paise in the same period of 2022. As on 31 December 2023, NAVPS of the company stood at Tk 74.94, which was Tk 73.32 as on 30 June 2023.
SS Steel sold products worth Tk 1,39 crore in 6 months (July-Dec’23), which was Tk 762 crore in the same period of 2022. According to this, the sales of the company increased by Tk 277 crore in the six months of the current financial year. The company’s EPS in the last six months of 2023 was 3 paise, which was 2 paise in the last six months of 2022. The company’s net asset value per share (NAVPS) as on 31 December 2023 was Tk 23.89, which was Tk 23.99 as on 30 June 2023.
Incidentally, the production of two steel producing companies Ratanpur Steel Re-Rolling Mills Limited and Apollo Ispat Complex Limited has stopped.