Standard Ceramic Industries Limited is currently mired in various financial crises and irregularities, one of which is the allegation of showing false assets. The company’s production stopped early last year, due to the derailment of electricity and gas lines by the government. Although costs were higher than the company’s sales before the production was stopped, the resulting losses were inevitable. However, various financial accounting problems have arisen, one of which is showing fake inventory.
The audit of the financial accounts of Standard Ceramics for the financial year 2023-24 showed that the current liabilities of the company were Tk 48 crore 51 lakh, of which the bank loan was Tk 20 crore 27 lakh. However, the total current assets of the company including stocked products are only 11 crore rupees. This shows the financial instability of the company. The supply chain is disrupted as the company becomes unable to pay its current liabilities.
Standard Ceramics posted a net loss of Tk 15.43 crore in FY 2023-24, which is much higher than last year. The company has shown stock of goods worth Rs 9.68 crore, of which Rs 7.81 crore is claimed to be in the process of production. But compared to the amount of goods produced by the company in 7 months, the amount of goods in process is shown to be abnormally high.
The auditors said that if there is raw material in the production process, there should be a maximum of 65 to 70 metric tons of product according to the company’s production capacity. However, the company authorities have overstated the inventory of Tk 7.29 million, thereby showing less net loss and less negative assets.
Besides, the company authorities did not provide any register or spot inspection to the auditor to verify the authenticity of stock. As a result, the financial transparency of the company has been questioned.
The paid-up capital of Standard Ceramics, which was listed in the stock market in 1996, is Tk 6 crore 46 lakh. At present, the ownership of different categories of investors in the share market is 71.76 percent. On January 21, 2025, the share price of the company was Tk 65.50.
