Haqqani Pulp and Paper Mills PLC, which is publicly traded, aims to boost its profits by implementing technology-driven initiatives. The board of directors has sanctioned the initiation of two energy-efficient projects with a total investment of only Tk 8 million. As a result, the company anticipates generating an additional profit exceeding Tk 9.5 million each year.
During a board meeting on Saturday (September 6), it was resolved that the company would finance the installation of a hot water generation system and an industrial exhaust gas boiler (EGB) using its own resources.
By employing these two technologies, the company will be able to harness the waste heat from the current gas generator, thereby significantly decreasing its reliance on gas. In a period when numerous industrial firms are incurring losses due to rising gas prices, this investment will provide substantial relief for Haqqani Pulp.
Company representatives have stated that the new equipment is expected to save approximately Tk 7.77 million monthly or Tk 9.35 million annually in gas expenses.
The project is estimated to cost Tk 4 million. The hot water produced by the generator will be transformed into extra steam, leading to a decrease in the gas usage of the existing boiler. This will result in monthly savings of approximately 3 lakh 16 thousand taka, contributing to an annual profit of around 38 lakh taka.
Similarly, the cost has also been projected at 4 million taka. It is expected to generate about 24 tons of steam each month from the gas released by the generator. Consequently, the monthly gas expenditure will be lowered by 4 lakh 60 thousand taka, which will boost the profit by over 55 lakh 50 thousand taka annually.
The decision to initiate these projects comes at a time when Haqqani Pulp is already demonstrating signs of financial recovery. The company’s revenue rose by 8 percent to 88 lakh 27 thousand taka during the July-March period of the current fiscal year. Concurrently, net profit surged by 830 percent to 53 lakh 17 thousand taka. As a result, earnings per share (EPS) increased to 28 paisa.
Nevertheless, the previous year posed significant challenges. In the 2024 fiscal year, the company’s net profit plummeted by 95 percent to merely 7 lakh 8 thousand taka. Consequently, the company was only able to distribute a cash dividend of 2 percent, which is below the 5 percent threshold, and is currently classified in the ‘B’ category on the stock exchange.
