B Mirror Report: The same sponsors and directors hold both Meghna PET Industries and Meghna Condensed Milk, two publicly traded firms. Both businesses are still losing money. But the anomalies have continued.
In parallel, irregular activities are continuing rather than efforts to bring the companies back to profitability. Errors totaling tens of millions of taka have been discovered in the Meghna Condensed Milk case.
After the company’s financial accounts for the fiscal year 2024–2025 were audited, the auditor’s report disclosed several anomalies.
According to the auditor, Meghna Condensed Milk has shown fixed assets worth Tk 1.11 billion in its financial statements. However, the company does not properly maintain its asset register or accounting records, making it impossible to verify the actual value of the assets. The company revalued its fixed assets through LAM International Inspection, but this valuation firm is not approved by the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC).
The auditor also questioned the authenticity of inventory worth Tk 30.1 million claimed by the company, as management failed to provide ledgers or supporting documents against the stated stock.
Meanwhile, Meghna Condensed Milk reported advances, deposits, and prepayments amounting to Tk 55.8 million as assets in its financial statements. However, the auditor believes these amounts are unlikely to be recovered and has recommended that they be written off, which would reduce the company’s asset base.
The company has also shown receivables of Tk 9.0 million from customers, but their recovery is uncertain. As a result, the auditor recommended creating provisions. In addition, the company failed to provide ledgers, agreements, or explanations regarding bank loans amounting to Tk 34.0 million. Although cash and cash equivalents of Tk 4.9 million were reported in the financial statements, the auditor found no supporting evidence.
Sponsors and directors of this financially weak company have been reducing their shareholdings, engaging in irregularities in the process. Of the company’s total 16 million shares, sponsors/directors previously held 8 million shares, which has now declined to 6 million. Despite a reduction of 2 million shares, the company failed to provide the auditor with RJSC-certified documents.
According to the auditor, Meghna Condensed Milk has shown long-term bank loans of Tk 642.8 million in its financial statements. However, the company could not provide bank statements or any supporting documentation related to these loans.
Liabilities of Tk 451.9 million related to expenses have also been reported, but no proper accounting records were maintained, preventing the auditor from confirming the accuracy of these liabilities.
Shareholders of this listed company have not received dividends for a long time. However, the company claimed to have paid Tk 1.674 million in dividends during the 2024–25 fiscal year, which had been declared many years earlier. The auditor was not provided with any ledger, payment details, or supporting documents related to this claim.
Additionally, according to International Accounting Standard (IAS) 12, Meghna Condensed Milk does not compute deferred tax. Additionally, without modifying deferred tax, the business moves the depreciation charged on revaluation surplus from the revaluation reserve to retained earnings.
Meghna Condensed Milk had Tk 160 million in paid-up capital when company went public on the stock exchange in 2001. General investors from a variety of categories own 62.57 percent of this (excluding sponsors/directors). The share price of the corporation was Tk 27.00 on Wednesday, February 4.
