Beach Hatchery’s production stopped for years

Highlights

• Incurring losses for six consecutive years

• Company's production stopped since 24 April 2016

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• No sign to restart operation in near future

Shrimp fry producer Beach Hatchery Limited's business is stalled since 2016, after construction of the marine drive road in Cox's Bazar forced the company to stop its production.

Though the road construction ended since long, the publicly listed company failed to restart operation. 

Since then the company has been incurring losses depriving its shareholders of dividend.

In the year of 2019-2020 fiscal year, the company counted Tk1.40 crore losses. In its losing stream of six consecutive years, it failed to declare any dividend.

Sources from the company said there is no possibility of going into production very soon, though authorities are trying to restart operation.

Shrimp fry production is considered as a backward linkage sector of the shrimp processing industry, a 100% export oriented sector.

The company started business in 1997 with annual 600 million fry production capacity.

It got listed with Dhaka stock exchange (DSE) and Chittagong stock exchange (CSE) in 2002. 

In 2019, the company took an initiative to diversify its fish firming business using Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) technology provided by a Norway company on a turnkey basis. 

The company took lease of 101.19 acres land at Trishal upazila of Mymensingh, to produce Telapiya, Pangus, Koi, Shorpute and other fishes.

Company secretary of Beach Hatchery Md Nur Islam told The Business Standard, "Though we signed an agreement to hire the land for fish firming, we could not start the venture in time due to sudden death of our chairman. Now the management of the company is trying to start operation." 

Data of the company said, from the start of its operation since 2014, the company never faced 'shut down'. But in 2016, the company fell into losses because its factory was dismantled to construct the marine drive road.

As of December 2014, the company's total revenue was Tk13.16 crore and net profit after tax was Tk2.11 crore, with Tk0.54 earnings per share (EPS). The company declared a 5% bonus dividend for the shareholders.  

In the last 2019-2020 fiscal year, The Company incurred a loss of Tk1.40 crore and EPS loss stood at Tk0.34, which is less than from the previous fiscal year. In 2018-2019 the company's loss was Tk1.49 crore and EPS loss was Tk0.36.

Commenting on the company's overall business, Nur Islam said, "The Company's revenue and profit was very much hopeful since 2014 before our factory was closed for construction of the marine drive road. Then it fell into losses. We are very much hopeful to restart the factory soon."