Eastern Cables Limited, a state-owned cable manufacturer, has been downgraded from the ‘B’ category to the ‘Z’ category, effective 12 November.
The reclassification follows the company’s failure to declare any dividend for two consecutive financial years, in line with Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) directives.
According to a price-sensitive information disclosure filed with the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) yesterday, the company’s board of directors recommended no dividend for the financial year ended 30 June 2026. It had also skipped dividend payments in FY25 after reporting a net loss of Tk11.68 crore.
For FY26, the company reported negative earnings per share (EPS) of Tk4.66, compared to Tk4.43 in the previous year, driven primarily by a decline in sales and higher operational losses.
Net asset value (NAV) per share stood at Tk334.66, while net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) improved to Tk4.55 from Tk1.22 a year earlier.
The downward financial trend continued into the first quarter of FY27. For the July–September 2026 quarter, Eastern Cables posted a negative EPS of Tk1.52, down from a negative EPS of Tk0.63 in the corresponding period of 2025. NOCFPS for the quarter stood at Tk2.49 compared to Tk4.15 previously, while NAV per share edged to Tk333.15 as of 30 September, 2026.
Management attributed the weaker financial metrics to lower sales volume and subdued top-line generation.
Reflecting investor disappointment following the disclosures, the company’s share price dropped by 2.79% to close at Tk108.
As a consequence of the ‘Z’ category demotion, stockbrokers and merchant banks have been instructed to refrain from providing loan facilities for purchasing securities of Eastern Cables Ltd.
Meanwhile, the company has scheduled its upcoming annual general meeting (AGM) for 23 January 2027, via a hybrid system hosted at the Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation in Dhaka, with the record date set for 13 December 2026.
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