Phoenix Finance incurs losses for the first time
Phoenix Finance and Investments Limited incurred losses in 2021 for the first time in its history.
Owing to this, the non-bank financial institution (NBFI) could not recommend any dividend for its shareholders, which is also for the first time since its stock market listing.
The news of no dividend dragged down the shares of the financial institution by 10.11% to close at Tk16.90 each on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on Tuesday.
According to its statement, the company's loss per share stood at Tk2.11, which was positive at the end of the first nine months of 2021.
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Phoenix Finance and Investments Limited, which had a net operating cash flow per share of Tk8.26 negative in 2021, is also suffering an operating cash flow crisis.
Its Managing Director SM Intekhab Alam could not be reached over his mobile phone for comments.
A senior executive, seeking anonymity, said its classified loan increased severely last year. Still, it was possible to maintain profits till the first nine months of 2021 due to low provisioning under the loan moratorium facility amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
But the NBFI had to keep 100% provisioning against large defaulted loans as per Bangladesh Bank's instructions. And for this, the company is in losses, he added.
According to the central bank data, the classified loan of Phoenix Finance has increased 156% to Tk395 crore in 2021, which was around 15% of its total disbursed loans.
Phoenix Group of Industries and Pakiza Group dominated the company's board of directors.
Meanwhile, its earnings per share (EPS) were Tk0.08 in the January-March quarter this year, but it incurred a loss per share of Tk0.07 in the next quarter. At the end of the first half of the year, its EPS stood at Tk0.01.
Currently, sponsors and directors of the company hold 30.51% shares, whereas institutional investors have 28.60% and the general public owns 40.89% shares.
