Written by The Banking Post
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has refused to reconsider Confidence Cement PLC’s rights issue proposal, forcing the company to shift course with a major divestment plan.
The regulator informed the company that under the Securities and Exchange Commission (Rights Issue) Rules, 2006, there is no provision to review an application once rejected, according to a Dhaka Stock Exchange filing on Tuesday.
Confidence Cement had sought to raise Tk100 crore through a rights offer to support its associate, Confidence Cement Dhaka Ltd. The plan was to issue one rights share for every three existing shares at Tk45 each, later revised to Tk35 amid market volatility. The proposal was turned down in June.
Following the setback, the Chattogram-based company has decided to divest its entire 50% stake in Confidence Cement Dhaka Ltd to Confidence Power Holdings for Tk140.97 crore. The buyer, another group entity, operates four power plants with a combined capacity of 393.6MW.
Confidence Cement reported consolidated revenue of Tk317.64 crore in the first nine months of FY25, almost unchanged from the year before. Despite posting Tk83.36 crore in operating profit, the company slipped into a Tk6.22 crore loss due to finance costs and foreign exchange losses. Earnings from Confidence Power Holdings, however, lifted pre-tax profit to Tk88.17 crore.
In FY24, the company booked Tk75.33 crore in profit, paid a 10% cash dividend, and reported an EPS of Tk8.73. Its share price gained 1.67% to close at Tk61 on the DSE yesterday.
