Olympic Industries has a cakewalk riding out pandemic

Olympic Industries, the maker of the popular Energy Plus biscuit, has emerged as one of the key beneficiaries of Bangladeshis spending more time at home for the coronavirus pandemic, with the company turning in back-to-back profitable quarters at a time when most are floundering. 

Between July and September, the company logged in profit of Tk 57 crore, up 2.2 per cent from a year earlier, in a development that what can be viewed as consumers falling back on indulging in snacks at home suggesting a shift in increased in-home snacking occasions.

In the preceding three months, when the country was in the thick of a general shutdown, Olympic, whose biscuits, confectionery and bakery products are hugely popular among middle-income households because of affordable price points, posted a profit of Tk 48 crore against Tk 47.7 crore a year earlier.

Subsequently, Olympic, whose popular brands include Energy Plus, Tip, Nutty, First Choice and Hilux, logged in profit of Tk 202.5 crore in its 2019-20 financial year, up 8.2 per cent year-on-year. Olympic’s financial year runs from July to June.

Its sales between April and September stood at Tk 859.3 crore, up 19.7 per cent from a year earlier.

Bangladesh’s leading biscuit manufacturer’s performance is in line with its global counterparts, most of whom minted on consumers’ appetite for munching on biscuits while stuck at home.

For instance, over in India, Britannia, the maker of Good Day biscuits, and Parle, the name behind the Parle-G brand biscuit, saw staggering sales between April and September.

Mubarak Ali, managing director of Olympic Industries, credited the rise in demand for its biscuits amid the pandemic to the packaged form in which they are sold.

They are not sold loosely, so they are better placed to capitalise on the shift in consumption from out-of-home to in-home.

“We work very closely with retailers of all sizes, ranging from tea stalls to general stores to large supermarkets. We have invested in 100,000+ co-branded store signage to prominently affirm the availability of our products.”

The company, which also manufactures battery, is confident that the surge in demand for its products would continue well past the pandemic.

“Since the demand for our products is increasing day by day, we are planning on expanding our production lines and introducing more food products,” Ali added.

Last month, the company announced bringing in new machinery, equipment and spares from China at an estimated cost of $579,000.

Shares of Olympic Industries, which was listed in 1989, gained 21.6 per cent amid the pandemic. It closed at Tk 182.6 on Sunday.

The company has announced a 52 per cent cash dividend for its 2019-20 financial year, its highest yet.