Walton`s business thrives in Q3

Walton Hi-Tech Industries PLC., listed in the engineering sector in the capital market of Bangladesh, recorded profit in the third quarter of the current financial year 2022-23. Its business is thriving despite adverse business conditions like the global economic recession and geopolitical crisis.

The unaudited financial report for the third quarter of the current financial year (January 2023-March 2023) revealed this information.

The report was published after reviewed and approved by the company`s board of directors at a board meeting held on Wednesday (April 19).

According to published reports, the company`s earnings per share (EPS) for the period ended March 31 of the current financial year (third quarter) was Tk 8.25. As on March 31, 2023, the company`s Net Asset Value Per Share (NAVPS) stood at Tk 224.57 without revaluation and Tk 327.84 with revaluation. In this period, the company`s Net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) stood at Tk 73.70, which is 550.49 times higher than the same period last year.

The published report revealed that the company NOCFPS for the period ended March 31 of the current financial year was increased due to better control over inventory, improvement of receivables, strong monitoring and control over the company`s all costs and proper utilization of the assets. Besides, significant reduction of payments to suppliers and others from working capital compared to the previous fiscal year`s same period of the previous financial year also resulted in raising the NOCFPS.

In the first nine months of the current financial year, the company`s operating profit stood at 21.03 percent, which was 18.67 percent in the same period of the previous financial year. During this period, the percentage of finance cost against sales and debt was recorded at 14.79 and 15.80 percent respectively, which was 2.79 and 3.42 percent respectively in the last financial year`s same period.

During the current financial year, the company faced a financial loss of foreign exchange equivalent to Tk 392.74 crore due to the depreciation of the Bangladeshi currency against the US dollar during this period, which was only 44.18 crores in the same period of the previous financial year. At the end of the current financial year`s third quarter, the company`s total financial expense was Tk 604.79 crore, which was only Tk 149.60 crore in the same period of the previous financial year. As a result, the company`s profit after tax for the period ended March 31, 2023 (third quarter) stood at 6.11 percent.

According to Walton authorities, the global economy was badly affected due to the corona pandemic, post-pandemic situation and the recent European geopolitical crisis.

International trade was greatly hampered. As a result, prices of almost all commodities, including food and energy, were gone up and inflation also soared globally. A fragile situation in the global economic situation was created.

Due to the increase of transportation costs and price hike of industrial raw materials in the international market, turbulent global market conditions and depreciation of the Bangladeshi currency against US dollar, the cost of raw materials and spare parts were increased drastically. However, Walton is overcoming all the adverse business situations by taking various timely initiatives and thus returned to profit in the third quarter.

As the demand and sales of electronics products in the country were increased remarkably centering the temperature rise and two Eids in the country, the authorities hope that the company`s profit will be increased more in the fourth quarter of the current financial year.