Highlights:
Appliance maker Singer Bangladesh's revenue was Tk670 crore in 2012, yielding a net profit of Tk49 crore. Thirteen years later, although its revenue surged to Tk2,133 crore, the company plunged into a staggering net loss of Tk225 crore. The downward course has continued into this year.
This raises a critical question: How did a former market giant dive so deep into the red, failing to pay a dividend from its 2025 earnings for the first time in its history? As the accumulated losses exceeded its capital, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) downgraded the company's shares to the junk "Z" category.
An analysis of the company's financial reports by The Business Standard reveals that Singer Bangladesh has been crippled by escalating borrowing costs that completely wiped out operational profits gained from higher sales.
The company, majority-owned by Turkish conglomerate Arcelik, and listed on the DSE, reported a net loss after tax of Tk225 crore for 2025, widening significantly from a loss of less than Tk50 crore a year ago.
Earnings per share dropped further into negative territory to Tk22.56 from negative Tk4.91 in 2024.
The losses came despite a 14.3% increase in full-year revenue to Tk2,133 crore, driven by the transition to production at its new manufacturing facility. Gross profit also rose to Tk516 crore, up from Tk471 crore a year earlier.
However, an intense financing burden crippled the company's bottom line, according to the annual report. Finance costs skyrocketed to Tk322 crore in 2025 from Tk143 crore the previous year, far more than the company's modest operating profit of Tk55 crore.
According to the company's annual report, Singer's reliance on short-term debt to fund its capital investment and operations triggered the liquidity strain. The company's secured short-term borrowings, including bank overdrafts, soared to Tk1,394 crore from Tk1,191 crore a year ago.
Singer utilised credit facilities from a consortium of commercial banks. Its short-term borrowings included Tk305 crore from Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Tk249 crore from Pubali Bank, including a Tk99 crore overdraft, Tk177 crore from Dutch-Bangla Bank and Tk100 crore from Prime Bank.
Direct interest payments on borrowings and leases swallowed up Tk264 crore in cash outflows during the year. Consequently, Singer's closing cash and cash equivalents position sat deep in negative territory at Tk1,328 crore, offset by bank overdrafts.
Net operating cash flow per share did provide a silver lining, recovering to a positive Tk14.56 per share from a negative Tk7.96 in the previous year on the back of stronger turnover collection.
The company's board did not immediately outline a restructuring plan for its short-term debt portfolio to combat high local interest rates, the company said in its annual report for 2025.
The report also said despite revenue growth in 2025, profitability remained under significant pressure. Elevated inflation and higher input costs limited gross profit growth to 4%, reaching nearly Tk516 crore.
Consequently, gross margin contracted from 27% to 24%, reflecting the company's constrained ability to fully pass on cost increases to consumers in a competitive market.
"Nevertheless, the gross margin remains broadly competitive within the industry, underscoring underlying pricing resilience," says the annual report.
On the dividend, the report said that due to the net loss experienced during the year and the increased leverage resulting from capital expenditures, the board has decided not to propose a dividend for 2025.
On the outlook, Singer Bangladesh said that despite near-term headwinds, it remains focused on long-term growth. The commissioning of its new manufacturing facility is expected to lower costs, increase localisation and improve product quality, while strengthening its product portfolio to better serve Bangladesh's growing middle-income consumers with rising purchasing power.
The Business Standard sought comments from Kazi Ashiqur Rahman, company secretary of Singer Bangladesh, but he neither responded to text messages nor answered repeated telephone calls.
Industry insiders say Singer Bangladesh's turnaround is being hampered by fierce competition from local manufacturers, particularly Walton and Pran-RFL.
According to a Walton official, the company now holds around 70% of the domestic refrigerator market, a segment in which Singer was once a dominant player. At the same time, Pran-RFL has been steadily expanding its presence in the home appliances market through an aggressive rollout of new retail outlets.
What Singer's Q1 financials reveal
Singer Bangladesh's total turnover edged up to Tk578 crore in the first quarter of 2026 from Tk559 crore a year earlier, according to its quarterly financial statement filed with the Dhaka Stock Exchange.
The growth was driven entirely by exports. While domestic revenue slipped marginally to Tk555 crore from Tk558 crore, export earnings reached Tk21.7 crore, compared with virtually nil in the corresponding period of 2025.
Despite the higher turnover, operating profit fell to Tk15.8 crore from Tk17.3 crore, as operating expenses rose to Tk127 crore from Tk119 crore.
The biggest drag, however, came from financing costs. Net finance costs surged nearly 60% year-on-year to Tk67 crore from Tk47 crore, while total finance expenses exceeded Tk72 crore due to the company's substantial borrowing requirements.
As a result, Singer's net loss widened to nearly Tk56 crore in the January-March quarter, compared with Tk35 crore a year earlier. Its loss per share also deepened to Tk5.60, from Tk3.50 in the same period last year.
The weak earnings further dented investor confidence. Yesterday, after the company disclosed its quarterly results, there were virtually no buyers for Singer shares on the DSE, reflecting bearish sentiment over its deteriorating financial performance.
Singer Bangladesh / Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE)
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