Business Report
Multinational cement maker LafargeHolcim Bangladesh Limited (LHBL) reported 3 per cent lower consolidated revenue to Tk 825.7 crore in the first quarter of 2024 on a year-on-year basis, in a context of elevated inflation.
The publicly traded company’s operating earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) stood at Tk 211.6 crore in the January-March quarter this year, a down of 13 per cent over the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the multinational’s net sales drop by 3 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 compared for the same period last year.
For that, The Company posted 15 per cent lower profit compared to the same period last year. The company made a net profit of Tk 163 crore during the period, compared to a profit of Tk 191 crore in the same period of the previous year. Its earnings per share (EPS) decreased to Tk 1.40 for the January-March quarter this year against Tk 1.64 for the same quarter last year.
Iqbal Chowdhury, chief executive officer of LHBL on Monday said, “The construction Industry is going through a challenging time, with a consistently high inflationary environment impacting consumption. However, we continued our focus on the expansion of sales channels, aggregates business, new products and solutions and improved market presence to ensure stronger results in the quarters to come.
We also have entered into the Bricks & Blocks market by launching Holcim Blocks, which is environment friendly and has a growth potentials in the market. We also have won “Green Factory Award 2023” recently from the Ministry of Labor and Employment that reflects our commitment towards ensuring a safe workplace for our employees and a sustainable green environment around our operations, he added. More than 10,000 tonnes of diverse waste streams were safely disposed of during the quarter, which clearly accelerated the green growth agenda of the company.