Singer Bangladesh Limited has released its results for the quarter ended on 30 September 2024.

The results released in the third quarter showed that total sales in marketing stood at 3.6 billion in 2024, an increase of 7.3% over last year. Sales increased but fell short of expectations. The ongoing political crisis in the country at the time of discussion and the severe floods in the eastern part of the country at the end of August and the western part of the country at the beginning of September are one of the reasons.

Gross profit in the third quarter was Tk 997.3 million, which is slightly higher than last year’s Tk 991.2 million. However, gross profit margin declined to 27.6% from 29.5% last year due to increase in sales of locally sourced and commercially sold products.

Operating expenses for 2024 increased by 21.6% compared to 2023. Operating expenses increased this year compared to last year due to advertising, sales promotion campaigns, new outlet management and new factory maintenance and IT related expenses.

Finance cost this year increased by 138.3% to 364.9 million, which was 153.1 million in 2023. This was due to an increase of over 4% in bank interest rates and a 55.3% increase in the use of short-term loans.

Profit/(Loss) after Tax (Tk. 185.4 million) as against Tk. 87.7 million in 2023. Besides, earnings per share increased from Tk 0.88 (Tk 1.86).

The final tax rate for 2024 rose from 31.5% to 59.3% due to lower profits in the third quarter.

Net operating cash flow per share declined (to Tk 7.36), which was positive in 2023. This is due to the decline in sales due to the political crisis and floods.

In the quarter under review, Singer had to deal with currency devaluation, LC opening issues, rising borrowing costs and other economic challenges. However, Singer still maintains a strong presence in the market with their products. Singer has taken various initiatives to consolidate its position in the market.