Fortune Shoes Tk10cr dividend payment remains late

Fortune Shoes Limited failed to disburse dividends totaling around Taka 10 crore for financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23 within the stipulated time, according to the company’s auditor.

In a qualified opinion issued today in the audited report for FY24 at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), the auditor revealed that the company declared a dividend of Tk 5.89 crore for the financial year 23, which remains unpaid as of the closing date.

For FY22, the company had declared a dividend of Tk 16.25 crore, of which Tk 12.11 crore was disbursed, leaving an outstanding balance of Tk 4.13 crore, the auditor noted .

Although the unpaid dividend obligations did not impact the auditor’s overall opinion, the auditor highlighted their importance. These unpaid amounts are recorded as liabilities in the company’s accounts.

The company declared a 10% cash dividend and a 5% stock dividend for FY22, along with a proposed 5% cash dividend for FY23. However, failure to pay the dividends to At this time, the DSE downgraded Fortune Shoes from Category B to Category Z on September 25.

Notably, the company submitted a dividend compliance report to the DSE on June 9 this year, claiming that dividends declared for FY22 had been paid into shareholders’ accounts.

According to listing regulations, listed companies are required to pay dividends within 30 days of approval at the annual general meeting (AGM). Otherwise, the directors would be jointly and separately liable to pay a penalty of Tk 5,000 for each day the default persists.

A senior company official said a lack of working capital had prevented Fortune Shoes from paying dividends on time.

According to the company’s financial statements, it reported a profit of Tk 37.41 crore in FY22 and a profit of Tk 17.98 crore in FY23.

Meanwhile, on November 10, the capital market regulator set a deadline for ten listed companies to disburse their undisbursed dividends, warning that failure to comply would result in fines totaling Tk 26.83 million for directors of the companies.

The companies include Safko Spinning Mills, Pacific Denims, Lub-rref (Bangladesh), Oryza Agro, Mamun Agro, Krishibid Seed, Krishibid Feed, BD Paints, Associated Oxygen and Advent Pharma. However, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) did not include Fortune Shoes, despite its failure to pay dividends on time.

At a commission meeting today, the BSEC ordered nine companies to pay their due dividends by December 15 and set specific fines for non-compliance.

Advent Pharma, meanwhile, has been ordered to pay due dividends by November 30, with penalties for its directors in case of further delay, according to BSEC.