Monno Agro declares 32% stock, 3% cash dividends

Monno Agro and General Machinery, a publicly listed company in the engineering sector, has announced a 32% stock and 3% cash dividend for the fiscal year that ended on 30 June 2023.

This is the highest dividend declared by the company in the last five fiscal years. In the fiscal 2017-18, the company paid a 350% stock dividend.

At present, the company's paid-up capital is Tk2.73 crore. But the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) requires all listed companies to have a minimum paid-up capital of Tk30 crore.

Benoy Paul, company secretary at Monno Agro, told The Business Standard, "Our paid-up capital is way below the regulatory requirement. This is why we are trying to meet the BSEC's requirement by issuing bonus shares."

It's comparatively easy to manipulate the shares of companies with low paid-up capital. Thus, the BSEC initiative to increase the paid-up capital of these companies.

On Wednesday, the company's stock price surged by 3.17% riding on its dividend declaration news, and stood at Tk861.7 per share at the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

To secure the shareholders' approval of the declared dividend, the company has set the annual general meeting on 29 November. The record date will be 1 November.

In FY23, Monno Agro's earnings per share grew by 82% year-on-year and stood at Tk2.9. Its net asset value per share stood at Tk174.39.

But because the company is going through an operating cash flow crisis, it could not full-fledgedly use its capacity, said Benoy Paul.