Suspension order withdrawn, production resumes at Central Pharma

The Directorate General of the Drug Administration (DGDA) has withdrawn its order suspending Central Pharmaceuticals Ltd from producing drugs.

The company re-started production on Sunday – the same day the order was lifted. 

Earlier, in December 2019, the DGDA suspended the production license for this company's drugs due to a factory defect.

On the Dhaka Stock Exchange, the company's share price saw a 10 percent hike and the last trade price of the company's shares was at Tk13.2.

This correspondent made several attempts to reach Central Pharma Managing Director Munsur Rahman by phone. However, he did not respond.

Kamal Ahmed, head of the company's shares department told The Business Standard, "We have upgraded the factory according to the rules. So there is no barrier to continuing production."

Meanwhile, a case is being filed with the National Board of Revenue (NBR) over the company's alleged tax evasion.

The NBR has already frozen the company's bank accounts, forcing it to use cash for transactions.

When asked about the issue, Kamal Ahmed said, "We will try to solve it."

The net profit of Central Pharmaceuticals Ltd dropped 64 percent to Tk5 crore over the last four years.

The year-on-year net profit in the first half of the current financial year fell 75 percent to Tk1.31 crore.

The company gave just a one percent cash dividend to its shareholders in the last financial year and its paid-up capital is Tk120 crore.

The sponsor directors hold 25.89 percent shares of the company, and institutional and general investors hold 15.47 and 58.64 percent of the shares, respectively.

Central Pharmaceuticals was founded on November 13, 1980 and began commercial operations the same year. 

The company was listed on the Dhaka and the Chittagong stock exchanges in 2013.