Crown Cement financial analysis: 4 mt of sales but finance cost takes 55% of operating profit (Oct 2026)

The biggest listed grinder by volume, run on US-dollar credit: 4,083 kt sold, but finance cost took 55% of operating profit

What it is. Crown Cement PLC (formerly M.I. Cement Factory) grinds imported clinker, slag, fly ash, gypsum and limestone into Ordinary and Portland Composite Cement at one riverside site at West Mukterpur, Munshiganj, and sells it under the 'Crown Cement' brand at home and in India [1 p.183]. Its fiscal year ends on 30 June, so FY2025 is July 2024 to June 2025 [1 p.183]. Installed capacity rose to 5,736 kt a year (300-day basis) when a sixth grinding unit of 8,040 tonnes a day started in January 2024; it produced 4,094 kt in FY2025, a utilisation of 71% [1 p.208], and sold 4,083 kt, 17.3% more than in FY2024 [1 p.195]. It is owned and run by a group of founding families whose other businesses (GPH Ispat, Premier Cement, a shipping company, a bag maker, a power company) trade with it [1 p.207] [1 p.31] [1 p.32].

Where it stands. FY2025 net revenue was Tk 32,846m (+17.7%) but net profit fell 33% to Tk 672m (EPS Tk 4.52) [1 p.180]: depreciation and interest on the new unit, a 74% jump in selling costs and Tk 517m of back taxes for 2007-2024 absorbed the volume gain [1 p.136] [1 p.204]. The audited FY2026 accounts are not yet in our filings corpus; on 27-Oct-2026 the company announced FY2026 EPS of Tk 5.08, NAV per share of Tk 65.73, operating cash flow of Tk 23.00 a share and a 22.5% cash dividend [4]. Nine-month FY2026 figures show the margin squeeze that preceded it: gross margin fell from 15.0% to 10.4% and net profit halved to Tk 253m [2 p.2], so the year's result depended on a strong fourth quarter (implied EPS Tk 3.38) whose drivers are not yet published. The shares closed at Tk 56.4 on 29-Oct-2026 [6].

What drives shareholder returns. Crown's earnings are a small spread on a large volume, financed with borrowed dollars. Gross profit per tonne was Tk 1,211 in FY2024 and Tk 1,130 in FY2025, and only Tk 816 in the first nine months of FY2026 [20]. Each Tk 100 a tonne on 4,083 kt is Tk 408m, 29% of FY2025 profit before tax. Below gross profit, interest and FX on about Tk 14.9bn of borrowings decide whether the year is good or bad: the swing from an FX loss of Tk 142m in 9M FY2025 to a gain of Tk 31m in 9M FY2026 was worth more than a fifth of 9M FY2026 profit before tax [2 p.23]. Cash generation is better than profit because depreciation is large, and capital allocation since FY2022 went into the sixth unit (capex Tk 4,253m in FY2024) and now into ships and land; the dividend has been 31-70% of EPS in profitable years [20].

• What produced the Tk 502m fourth quarter of FY2026? Signpost: the FY2026 annual report (before the AGM on 12-Dec-2026): realisation, clinker cost per tonne and the FX line.
• Is the price war easing? Signpost: Q1 FY2027 gross margin (board meeting due by 14-Nov-2026) against 15.0% in 9M FY2025 and 10.4% in 9M FY2026.
• Will dollar borrowing keep shrinking? Signpost: the offshore raw-material loan (Tk 8,481m at June 2025) and trade payables in the FY2026 balance sheet.
• What does the new mother vessel add? Signpost: income from mother vessels in FY2026 and FY2027 against Tk 319m gross in FY2025.
• Do related-party payments grow faster than revenue? Signpost: note 41 (vessel lease, bag lease, associate sales) in each annual report.

Six grinding units, 5,736 kt of capacity, 71% used in FY2025

History. The company was incorporated on 31-Dec-1994 and listed on the Chittagong and Dhaka exchanges in May 2011 after a fully subscribed IPO [1 p.183]. Under the M.I. Cement Factory name it grew to about Tk 9.4bn of revenue by FY2017 [3 p.58], adding grinding units in steps: the company timeline lists units of 600, 800, 1,400, 3,000 and 5,200 tonnes a day before the 8,040 t/day sixth unit, and three mother vessels (M.V. Crown Voyager, Crown Victory and Crown Vision) bought to carry raw materials [1 p.27]. The sixth unit uses a German Loesche vertical roller mill and started in January 2024 [1 p.136] [1 p.208].

Capacity and volume. Installed capacity rose from 4,530 kt to 5,736 kt in FY2025 and production from 3,487 kt to 4,094 kt, so utilisation fell from 77% to 71% even as volume grew 17% [1 p.208]. Domestic sales were 3,998 kt and exports 85 kt; in bags, 81.7m bags of cement were sold [1 p.195]. Management attributes the volume gain to 'various sales initiatives' around the new unit [1 p.136]. In 9M FY2026 sales rose 8.2% to 3,299 kt, but third-quarter volume fell 5.7% to 1,222 kt, which the company put down to slower construction around the national elections and diesel shortages linked to the Middle East conflict [2 p.16] [2 p.27].

Price per tonne. Net revenue per tonne sold (including bag and export sales) was Tk 8,017 in FY2024 and Tk 8,045 in FY2025 [20]; the company says the selling price rose 0.34% [1 p.136]. In 9M FY2026 it fell 2.5% to Tk 7,853, and the first-quarter report said Crown 'adopted a competitive pricing strategy amid the industry's excess Cement production capacity' with a 1.59% fall in the unit price [4] [20]. Crown has no premium-price position to fall back on: it sells volume in a market with roughly twice the capacity it needs.

Distribution and the cost of volume. Selling and distribution rose 74% to Tk 1,371m in FY2025, or from Tk 226 to Tk 336 a tonne [20]. The notes break it down: advertising Tk 254m for a '360-degree' campaign, sales promotion Tk 87m (Tk 7m a year earlier), fuel for the company's own new truck fleet Tk 153m (Tk 11m), vehicle repairs Tk 60m and unloading labour Tk 126m [1 p.201] [1 p.202]. The extra 603 kt of sales therefore came at a cost of about Tk 585m of extra selling expense, which is why operating profit fell even though gross profit rose by Tk 400m [1 p.136].

About 10% of a market with twice the capacity it needs; peers on their own filings

Market. Crown's own report describes about 28 manufacturers with installed capacity of about 84 mt a year, 'more than double' domestic demand, and consumption that roughly doubled from 20 mt in 2014 to 38 mt in 2024 [1 p.135]. The Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association, as reported by The Daily Star, counted 86.02 mt of capacity at 41 plants against 39.75 mt of demand in 2025 [11]. On those figures Crown's 4,083 kt is about 10% of the market, which makes it one of the largest sellers; we have no audited share table for unlisted rivals such as Shah or Bashundhara (gap). Demand rests on public works and private building; ECNEC approved 12 projects totalling Tk 1.69 trillion in September 2026 [14].

Clinker duty. Crown's report says the import duty on clinker changed from Tk 700 a tonne to an ad valorem 15%, raising costs when dollar prices rise [1 p.135], and the Q3 FY2026 report blames 'higher customs duties on clinker imports introduced in the current fiscal budget' for an 11.3% rise in cost of goods sold against 8.2% volume growth [2 p.27]. Clinker prices also rose in 2026: LafargeHolcim's chief executive told The Daily Star that imported clinker went from about US$43 to US$53 a tonne [12].

Peers on the same basis. The table below uses each company's own audited statements. Crown, Premier and Confidence report June years (FY2025) and are shown standalone; Heidelberg and LafargeHolcim report December 2025. FX losses are added to finance cost for all of them because Crown reports its FX loss inside finance cost while Premier and Confidence show it separately [1 p.203] [7 p.195] [8 p.78]. The pattern is clear: the two multinationals have no bank debt, while the three local grinders carry borrowings of 0.8-3.9 times equity and pay most of their operating profit to banks. Crown's gross margin (14.1%) sits between Confidence (13.6%) and Premier (17.7%), and its clinker cost per tonne (Tk 7,049) was above Premier's Tk 6,733 and Heidelberg's Tk 6,825 [7 p.200] [9 p.120]. Confidence's net profit comes mostly from its share of associates (Tk 1,208m), not from cement [8 p.78].

Two cautions on the comparison. Heidelberg has net finance income (shown as a negative finance cost) and LafargeHolcim owns a kiln, so their margins are not a grinder's. Premier's borrowings exclude Tk 1,010m of redeemable preference shares and Tk 240m of loans from directors [7 p.194]. Premier is also a related party: Crown's chairman and vice chairman both sit on Premier's board [1 p.31] [1 p.32] and Crown bought Tk 98m of cement from Premier in FY2025 [1 p.207].

Clinker is 54% of cost of sales at Tk 7,049 a tonne, bought with dollar loans

Raw materials. In FY2025 the cement plant consumed 2,169 kt of clinker costing Tk 15,293m (Tk 7,049 a tonne, Tk 6,973 in FY2024), 1,127 kt of slag (Tk 3,717m), 468 kt of fly ash (Tk 1,592m), and gypsum and limestone (Tk 1,768m) [1 p.196]. Clinker was 54.2% of total cost of sales and the clinker factor (clinker per tonne produced) was 53.0%, down from 54.0%, as more slag went into the mix [20]. Raw-material cost per tonne sold fell slightly, from Tk 5,584 to Tk 5,503, so FY2025's margin fall came from overheads and the bag plant, not from materials [20].

Overheads. Manufacturing overhead rose 43% to Tk 4,200m [1 p.197]. Depreciation rose from Tk 700m to Tk 1,086m with a full year of the sixth unit; electricity rose 30% to Tk 1,894m on 17.4% more production and a 5.57% tariff increase (Tk 463 a tonne produced, from Tk 417); coal, diesel and lubricants rose from Tk 29m to Tk 294m because a new coal mill supplies hot gas to dry slag for the sixth unit; and lease rent rose to Tk 403m after eight more rented lighter vessels joined the fleet [1 p.197] [1 p.136] [20]. The government raised power tariffs by 16.68% from June 2026 [13]; on the FY2025 bill each 10% is about Tk 189m.

Freight and the ships. Clinker arrives by sea at Chattogram's outer anchorage and is carried up-river to Mukterpur on lighter vessels leased from Crown Mariners Limited, an associate, at a rent the two sides call market-based [1 p.187]. Crown's own mother vessels are not used for its cargo at present: income from mother vessels 'represents earnings from the lease of the mother vessel to a foreign company', Tk 319m gross in FY2025 (Tk 293m in FY2024), and the increase came mainly from the weaker taka [1 p.200]. Since 17-Dec-2024 this income is taxed at 12% as an export of goods [1 p.200]. In November 2025 the board approved buying a second-hand ocean-going mother vessel of 53,569 DWT for Tk 1,476m [4].

The taka. Almost all clinker, slag and fly ash is imported and paid in dollars through LCs and offshore loans. At 30-Jun-2025 Crown owed US$69.6m of short-term foreign-currency loans (Tk 8,551m at Tk 122.85) and EUR 0.3m, and had US$11.9m of open LCs [1 p.212]. Each Tk 1 change in the dollar rate moves those loans by about Tk 70m. The FX loss in finance cost was Tk 403m in FY2024 and Tk 200m in FY2025 (Tk 154m realised, Tk 45m unrealised) [1 p.203]; in 9M FY2026, with a steadier taka, it turned into a gain of Tk 31m [2 p.23]. On the FY2025 clinker bill of Tk 15.3bn, each 1% move in the taka is about Tk 153m of cost before any price response [20].

Line items: revenue grew 3.6 times since FY2016, net profit did not

Revenue. Net revenue grew from Tk 9,017m in FY2016 to Tk 32,846m in FY2025, about 15% a year, with growth of 15-26% in every year from FY2021 [3 p.58] [19 p.80] [1 p.163] [20]. FY2023's jump reflects price rises after the taka's fall (we derive FY2023 net revenue from the reported 15.57% margin because the summary table prints gross revenue that year) and FY2024-FY2025 the sixth unit's volume [1 p.50]. Net profit did not follow: Tk 744m in FY2016, Tk 316m in FY2018 and Tk 251m in FY2019 as finance cost rose, losses in FY2020 and FY2022, a peak of Tk 1,001m in FY2024 and Tk 672m in FY2025 [3 p.58] [19 p.80] [1 p.163].

Gross margin. Gross margin was 18.4% in FY2016 and 17.1% in FY2017, about 13% in FY2018-FY2019, fell to 8.3% in FY2022 when the taka weakened and dollar clinker rose faster than cement prices, recovered to 15.6% in FY2023 and has eased since: 15.1% in FY2024, 14.1% in FY2025 and 10.4% in 9M FY2026 [20] [2 p.2]. The FY2026 fall came from price competition and the higher clinker duty, according to the company [2 p.27].

Other operating lines. Income from mother vessels (net of their depreciation) rose from Tk 159m to Tk 289m in FY2025, partly because one vessel became fully depreciated [1 p.200]. Administrative expenses rose 12% to Tk 336m, including Tk 19m of SAP software fees [1 p.136]. Operating profit was Tk 3,197m (9.7% of revenue) against Tk 3,288m in FY2024 [1 p.180].

Finance cost. Finance cost of Tk 1,763m comprised working-capital interest of Tk 1,081m (Tk 948m), long-term loan interest of Tk 441m (Tk 253m, a full year of the sixth-unit project loan), the FX loss of Tk 200m and bank charges of Tk 31m [1 p.203]. In 9M FY2026 finance cost fell 27% to Tk 982m: working-capital interest fell to Tk 558m from Tk 772m as Crown used more supplier credit 'in place of Bank borrowings under the UPAS loan facility', and FX turned to a gain [2 p.23] [2 p.27].

Tax. Tax is high relative to profit. Current tax is the higher of 1% of gross receipts and the regular rate on taxable income [1 p.205]. In FY2024 the minimum-tax rule added Tk 225m (14.2 percentage points) to the charge; in FY2025 completed assessments for the years 2007-08 to 2023-24 added Tk 517m of prior-year tax, so the effective rate was 55.1% [1 p.204]. In 9M FY2026 the effective rate was 54.6%, with 26.0 points attributed to minimum tax and other adjustments [2 p.23]. Share of associates' profit (Tk 42m) is not taxed until dividends are received [1 p.204].

FY2026: weak nine months, then an implied Tk 502m fourth quarter

Quarterly EPS in FY2026 was Tk 0.45, Tk 0.34 and Tk 0.91 for the first three quarters [4]. Nine-month net revenue rose 5.5% to Tk 25,907m but gross profit fell 27% to Tk 2,691m and net profit 52% to Tk 253m [2 p.2]. The board then reported full-year EPS of Tk 5.08 [4], which implies fourth-quarter EPS of Tk 3.38, or about Tk 502m of profit, against Tk 0.96 in the fourth quarter of FY2025 [20]. The split is our arithmetic from the announced figures; the audited FY2026 statements that would explain the fourth quarter (price, clinker cost, FX, tax or one-off items) were not in our corpus on 31-Oct-2026 and the model will be updated when they are filed.

Operating cash flow held up better than profit. NOCFPS was Tk 19.49 for the nine months (Tk 17.16 a year earlier), which the company credits to a collection drive before the Bangla New Year and more supplier credit [2 p.27]; trade and other payables rose from Tk 1,213m to Tk 2,502m between June 2025 and March 2026 while bank borrowings fell from Tk 14,888m to Tk 13,791m [2 p.1]. For the full year NOCFPS was Tk 23.00 (Tk 25.99 in FY2025) and NAV per share rose to Tk 65.73 [4].

Ratios: ROE between -3% and 12%, interest cover below 3x every year since FY2021

Returns. ROE on average equity was 9.6% in FY2017, 4.4% in FY2018, 3.5% in FY2019, -1.9% in FY2020, 11.7% in FY2021, -3.0% in FY2022, 8.1% in FY2023, 12.3% in FY2024 and 7.6% in FY2025 [20]; on the announced FY2026 figures it was about 7.9% (our calculation from announced EPS and NAV) [4] [20]. Return on assets has stayed between -1.3% and 5.3%. The returns are low because each tonne earns little after interest and tax, not because assets are idle: asset turnover rose from 0.6x in FY2016 to 1.2x in FY2025.

Coverage. The company's own ratio table shows interest coverage of 2.88x in FY2021, 1.16x in FY2022, 2.16x in FY2023, 1.97x in FY2024 and 1.80x in FY2025 [1 p.50]. On our definition (operating profit over total finance cost, FX included) it was 2.01x and 1.81x in FY2024-FY2025 and 1.58x in 9M FY2026 [20]. Finance cost took 50% of operating profit in FY2024 and 55% in FY2025, near the 60% level the sector format treats as a red flag.

Leverage. Borrowings were Tk 5,676m (0.84x equity) in FY2016 and Tk 8,997m (1.27x) in FY2017 [3 p.60], and Tk 14,923m (1.76x) and Tk 14,888m (1.60x) at June 2024 and June 2025 [1 p.179]. Net of Tk 724m of cash and deposits, net debt was Tk 14,164m at June 2025, 1.52 times equity [20]. Two-thirds of it is short-term: Tk 10,207m of current borrowings, of which Tk 8,481m was offshore raw-material loans [1 p.192]. Long-term loans (Tk 4,681m non-current plus Tk 815m current) are mostly the sixth-unit project financing from IDCOL and local banks [1 p.193].

Working capital and cash conversion. Inventory was 51 days of cost of sales and receivables 38 days of revenue in FY2025, while trade payables were only 16 days [20]: unlike the multinationals, which fund themselves with supplier credit, Crown funds raw materials with bank and offshore loans, which is why its interest bill is large. Operating cash flow was 1.3 times profit in FY2024 and 5.7 times in FY2025, helped by depreciation of Tk 1,219m and a Tk 569m rise in trade payables [1 p.206]. Capex was Tk 4,253m in FY2024 and Tk 2,196m in FY2025 [1 p.182].

Four 20%-owned associates and family companies earn Tk 900m+ a year from Crown

The associates. Crown owns 20% of four companies; 'remaining shares are owned by the directors of CCPLC and their close relatives' [1 p.187]. Because no written agreement gives Crown control, it equity-accounts them rather than consolidating them. Crown Power Generation supplies power to Crown 'at the Govt tariff'; Crown Mariners leases lighter vessels to Crown; Crown Cement Concrete and Building Products buys about 90% of its cement from Crown; and Crown Transportation and Logistics, which carried cement to customers, stopped operating on 1-Jul-2024 and sold its fixed assets [1 p.187]. The carrying value was Tk 509m at June 2025, of which Crown Mariners Tk 432m, and Crown's share of their FY2025 profit was Tk 42m, Tk 40m of it from Crown Mariners [1 p.186] [1 p.204].

What to watch. The payments that leave Crown (vessel rent Tk 403m, bag-plant rent Tk 189m) were Tk 592m in FY2025, 88% of net profit, against Tk 42m of associate profit coming back [1 p.207] [1 p.204]. The vessel rent is 'at market price agreed by both parties' [1 p.187]; the filings give no tonne-mile rate to test it. In FY2025 Crown also bought Tk 290m of property, plant and equipment from Crown Transportation, the associate that stopped trading, while that company's note says its assets were sold 'at competitive market prices' [1 p.187] [1 p.207]. The contingent liabilities include a Tk 2,540m bank guarantee from NRBC Bank (Tk 2,700m in FY2024); the beneficiary is not named on the page we read (gap) [1 p.207].

The wider group. Crown's chairman, Mohammed Jahangir Alam, is managing director of GPH Ispat, chairman of Crown Polymer Bagging, Crown Mariners and Crown Power Generation, and a director of Premier Cement Mills and Crown Cement Concrete [1 p.31]. The vice chairman, Md. Alamgir Kabir, is chairman of GPH Ispat, a director of Premier Cement Mills and managing director of Crown Cement Concrete and Building Products, which bought Tk 305m of cement from Crown in FY2025 [1 p.32] [1 p.207]. A shared board with a direct competitor (Premier) and supply links with group steel and concrete companies make note 41 the key related-party disclosure each year; the auditor (Hoda Vasi Chowdhury & Co.) gave an unmodified opinion on FY2025 [1 p.175].

Tk 27.3bn of assets, Tk 14.9bn of borrowings and a revaluation reserve of Tk 1.2bn

At 30-Jun-2025 total assets were Tk 27,313m: property, plant and equipment Tk 15,378m, inventories Tk 3,982m, receivables Tk 3,443m and advance income tax Tk 2,067m [1 p.179]. Equity of Tk 9,305m included share premium of Tk 2,957m and a revaluation reserve of Tk 1,179m, Tk 483m of which came from a land revaluation in FY2025 [1 p.179] [1 p.180]. Revaluation lifted FY2025 total comprehensive income to Tk 1,149m, against net profit of Tk 672m. Current liabilities exceeded current assets (current ratio 0.89x) [1 p.50], which is normal for a company that rolls short-term import loans, but leaves it dependent on banks renewing those lines; CRAB rated the company AA1 long term and ST-2 short term in December 2025 [4].

Commitments. Open LCs were Tk 1,489m at June 2025 (Tk 2,430m a year earlier) and capital commitments Tk 88m [1 p.206]. VAT claims under writ were Tk 66m [1 p.207]. Since the year-end the board has approved a Tk 1,476m mother vessel (November 2025) and Tk 138m of land at West Mukterpur (September 2025) [4]; neither is a capacity addition.

A cash dividend every year since FY2015, even in loss years; 22.5% for FY2026

Crown has paid a cash dividend for every year since 2015 on DSE's record: 25% (FY2015), 20%, 20%, 15%, 10%, 10% (FY2020), 20%, 10% (FY2022), 20%, 21%, 21% (FY2025) [5], and the board has recommended 22.5% (Tk 2.25 a share) for FY2026, record date 17-Nov-2026 and AGM 12-Dec-2026 [4]. The payouts for FY2020 and FY2022 were made from retained earnings in loss years. In profitable years since FY2016 the payout has ranged from 31% (FY2024) to 70% (FY2018) of EPS [20]; FY2026's is 44%. Dividends paid were Tk 341m in FY2024 and Tk 310m in FY2025, about 8% of FY2025 operating cash flow [1 p.182].

Market multiples as facts. At Tk 56.4 the market value is Tk 8.4bn on 148.5m shares [6] [5]. That is 11.1 times FY2026 EPS of Tk 5.08, 0.86 times June 2026 NAV of Tk 65.73, and a 4.0% yield on the Tk 2.25 dividend. The company reported a year-end P/E of 12.38x (FY2021), 18.10x (FY2023), 9.34x (FY2024) and 10.30x (FY2025), and a dividend yield of 2.69-4.51% in FY2023-FY2025 [1 p.50]. Over the last 52 weeks the share traded between Tk 44.7 (21-Dec-2025) and Tk 74.7 (20-Jul-2026) [6]. Daily volume in September-October 2026 was mostly under 10,000 shares.

Family control: the sponsor/director share fell from 52% to 41% as directors gifted shares to family members

At the FY2025 record date sponsors and directors held 53.55%, institutions 18.59%, the general public 27.81% and foreign holders 0.05% [1 p.164]. The late former managing director's estate (15.75%) and the chairman (12.47%) were the only 10% holders; the managing director held 6.15% and three other directors 2.2-5.7% each [1 p.164]. DSE's shareholding pattern shows sponsors/directors at 52.22% in June 2025 and 41.02% at 31-Aug-2026 and 30-Sep-2026 [5].

The fall is not a sale to outsiders. DSE announcements record directors gifting shares outside the trading system to spouses and children who are registered as general shareholders: 4.5m shares by the chairman and about 15.0m by three other directors in April 2025, 4.0m by director Mohammed Almas Shimul in November 2025, and in April 2026 14.0m by the chairman and 4.6m by director Md. Alamgir Kabir [4]. The recipients are spouses and children registered as general shareholders, so the shares stayed within the directors' families but now count as public float; DSE does not publish a combined family holding [4] [5]. The FY2025 annual report, as reported by The Business Standard on 17-Dec-2025, named two children of directors, Solaiman Kabir and Mushsharat Mahajabin, as directors, subject to shareholder ratification at the 22-Dec-2025 AGM [15].

DSE news, last 24 months: quarterly results (Nov-2024, Feb-2025, Apr-2025, Nov-2025, Jan-2026, Apr-2026), the FY2024 and FY2025 21% dividends, the FY2026 22.5% dividend declared on 27-Oct-2026, CRAB ratings of AA1 in December 2024 and December 2025, the land (Sep-2025) and vessel (Nov-2025) purchases and the share gifts [4]. In February 2025 The Daily Star, reporting the company's Q2 FY2025 disclosure, cited depreciation on the sixth unit, interest, power tariffs and higher marketing and staff costs for a 48% quarterly profit fall [16].

What will move the lines next: clinker duty and price, the taka, power tariffs and the FY2026 accounts

Costs. The two cost lines that moved FY2026 will keep moving FY2027. The clinker duty is now a percentage of the dollar price [1 p.135], so a higher clinker price (US$43 to US$53 a tonne, per LafargeHolcim's chief executive [12]) raises duty as well. Power tariffs rose 16.68% from June 2026 [13], which falls on a Tk 1.9bn power bill. Finance cost. The shift from bank UPAS loans to supplier credit cut working-capital interest by 28% in 9M FY2026 [2 p.23]; whether it lasts depends on suppliers' terms and on the taka. Volume. ECNEC's September 2026 approvals [14] support demand with a lag; Crown has 1.6 mt of unused capacity to meet it. Vessels. The new mother vessel will add charter income in dollars and depreciation and, if debt-financed, interest.

Policy. The UN General Assembly adopted on 29-Oct-2026 in New York (30-Oct in Dhaka) the move of Bangladesh's LDC graduation from 24-Nov-2026 to 24-Nov-2029 [17] [18]. For Crown the direct effect is small: its exports (85 kt in FY2025) go to India, and cement is mostly a domestic product; any change in import duties or tax incentives tied to graduation now comes three years later than planned.

Risks: price and the taka matter most; interest and tax take the rest

Crown's model is simple and leveraged: a market with twice the capacity it needs sets the price [11], the dollar and the duty set the cost, and banks finance the gap between the two. Profit before tax of Tk 1,403m in FY2025 [1 p.180] sits under Tk 1,763m of finance cost and Tk 773m of tax, so modest moves in price, clinker or the taka change the result a great deal, as FY2020, FY2022 and 9M FY2026 showed. The offsets are scale (one of the largest sellers, with spare modern capacity), strong operating cash flow, and a dollar income stream from the ships.

• FY2026 annual report (before the 12-Dec-2026 AGM): fourth-quarter drivers, clinker Tk per tonne, FX line, related-party note.
• Q1 FY2027 results (by 14-Nov-2026): gross margin against 10.4% in 9M FY2026.
• Offshore raw-material loans and trade payables at each quarter-end.
• Taka/US dollar rate and the clinker CFR price reported by producers.
• Power tariff changes and the FY2027 budget (June 2027) for clinker duty and minimum tax.
• DSE shareholding pattern each month for further gifts or sales by sponsors.

FAQ

When does Crown Cement's financial year end?

On 30 June. FY2025 ran from July 2024 to June 2025, and FY2026 ended on 30-Jun-2026.

How much did Crown Cement earn in FY2026?

The board announced EPS of Tk 5.08 (Tk 4.52 in FY2025), NAV per share of Tk 65.73 and a 22.5% cash dividend on 27-Oct-2026. The audited annual report was not yet in our corpus.

Does Crown Cement make its own clinker?

No. It grinds imported clinker; in FY2025 it used 2,169 kt of clinker at Tk 7,049 a tonne, 54% of cost of sales.

How much debt does Crown Cement have?

Borrowings were Tk 14,888m at 30-Jun-2025 and Tk 13,791m at 31-Mar-2026, including about Tk 8.5bn of foreign-currency raw-material loans at June 2025.

What are Crown Mariners and Crown Power Generation?

Associates in which Crown owns 20%, with the rest held by its directors and relatives. Crown Mariners leases lighter vessels to Crown (Tk 403m rent in FY2025); Crown Power Generation supplies power at the government tariff.

Sources

1. Crown Cement PLC Annual Report 2024-2025, year to 30-Jun-2025 (corpus CROWNCEMNT_ANNUAL_2025_2, PDF page numbers) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
2. Crown Cement PLC un-audited financial statements, nine months to 31-Mar-2026 (Q3 FY2026) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
3. M.I. Cement Factory Ltd. (now Crown Cement PLC) Annual Report 2016-2017 (six-year summary FY2012-FY2017) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
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20. AnalystBro history and ratio model for CROWNCEMNT (model.xlsx, the workbook below) · link · accessed 2026-10-31