Business Desk :
LafargeHolcim Bangladesh has said its profit almost doubled in the first quarter of 2021, riding on a staggering 23 per cent growth in sales amid the pandemic.
Net sales of the local subsidiary of the global cement giant stood at Tk 631.8 crore in the January to March quarter, up from Tk 512.8 crore year-on-year, as its new products were well-received by the customers. Based on the higher sales, net profit rose 98 per cent to Tk 103 crore. The company disclosed the data after its board meeting on Thursday.
It posted earnings per share of Tk 0.89 in the quarter, which was Tk 0.45 during the same period a year earlier.
“We have continued the journey of strong performance with a clear focus on innovation and sustainability,” said Rajesh K Surana, chief executive officer of the company.
The company’s new water-repellent cement and the new business channel “direct to retail” have got off to a solid start, he said.
“This is yet another manifestation of our continued endeavour in serving our customers better by realising their needs.”
LafargeHolcim began the commercial production of clear-size graded aggregate in January. Aggregate is a broad category of coarse particulate material used in construction, including sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geo-synthetic aggregates.
The company set up the crushing unit with ancillary equipment on its existing integrated clinker and cement manufacturing plant in Chhatak, Sunamganj. It can produce 12 lakh tonnes of aggregate per annum. It invested Tk 40.1 crore for the unit.
