Manzur Elahi to buy 1.06% shares of Apex Footwear

Apex Footwear Chairman Syed Manzur Elahi has declared to buy 1.06% or 1.37 lakh shares of the company at prevailing market price in the public market through the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).

At the prevailing market price, the shares are worth Tk3.54 crore.

Out of the 1.37 lakh shares, he has already bought 0.98 lakh through the secondary market of the DSE, and will buy the rest within the next 30 working days. 

He is buying the shares at such a time that the company's shares are trading at the floor price, which is the lowest in the last two years.

In March this year, when Apex Footwear's share price crossed Tk300, the highest in the last two years, its corporate shareholder Apex Enterprises sold its entire holding for Tk18.82 crore.

Out of the company's shares held by sponsor-directors, Manzur Elahi and his family jointly hold 15.78%, the state-owned Investment Corporation of Bangladesh 14.75% and associate company Apex Tannery holds 1.22%.

Meanwhile, despite an impressive 51% jump in revenue, Apex Footwear logged merely an 11% year-on-year profit growth in the first quarter of FY23. 

The company said profit growth was not as impressive as revenue growth because of higher costs of sales, marketing and logistics, and a strong dollar against the taka.

In the July to September quarter of FY23, the company's revenue increased to Tk424.68 crore, from Tk281.88 crore in the same period a year ago.

Its local sales and exports increased by 16.45% and 88.38% respectively.

Its net profit stood at Tk3.15 crore, which was Tk2.84 crore in the first quarter of FY22.

The earnings per share (EPS) stood at Tk2.67 and the net asset value per share at Tk251.12.

It recommended 35% cash and 10% stock dividends for its shareholders for FY22. Its EPS was Tk11.70 in the last fiscal year, which was Tk8.92 in FY21.

Out of its total shares, sponsors and directors hold 31.75%, institutions 21.79%, and general investors have 46.56% shares as of October this year.