Business Report :
The Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB), a state-owned entity primarily responsible for stock investments, reported that its loss decreased by 68per cent in the July-September quarter of the current fiscal year.
The corporation’s consolidated loss for the period stood at Tk75.28 crore, a significant improvement from Tk236.52 crore during the same period last year, according to its price-sensitive statement filed with the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).
At the end of the September quarter, its consolidated loss per share was Tk0.87, which was Tk2.73 in the same quarter previous year.
The company said in its statement that loss decreased due to increase in capital gain from sale of securities and increase in dividend income.
Following the decrease of loss, its share price rose 2.63per cent to Tk70.20 yesterday at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).
During the first quarter of FY25, it reported the consolidated net asset value per share was Tk51.08, and the consolidated net operating cash flow per share of Tk1.80 negative.
Meanwhile, in the last fiscal year, ICB managed to turn a profit despite incurring significant losses during the first nine months.
During this period, the corporation faced a loss of Tk267 crore, largely due to lower capital gains. However, it managed to recover and reported a profit of Tk32.28 crore for the entire FY24.
Despite this recovery, ICB’s consolidated profit for FY24 was 58per cent lower compared to the previous fiscal year, reflecting ongoing challenges.
The turnaround was primarily due to capital gains and dividend income, largely from multinational companies, and lower provisioning against loans, according to ICB officials.
As the profit for FY24 was nearly half of what it achieved in the previous fiscal year, it recommended a lower dividend of 2per cent cash dividends for its shareholders.
To approve the dividend and audited report for FY24, the company will conduct the annual general meeting on 21 December. The record date is set on 5 December for dividend and annual general meeting.