Eastern Cables financial analysis: FY2025 loss of BDT 4.43 a share and a qualified audit (Oct 2026)

Investment considerations: FY2025 revenue of BDT 301m, a FY2025 loss of BDT 117m and 99% of equity in the revaluation reserve

Eastern Cables Limited makes electrical cables and conductors at North Patenga, Chattogram. The company profile lists PVC insulated domestic cable, LT and HT power cable with copper conductors, and bare and insulated aluminium conductors (AAC and ACSR), with production from 1971 under a 1967 licence from Kabel-Werke-Reinshagen of Germany [1 p.14]. The company states that it is controlled by Bangladesh Steel & Engineering Corporation (BSEC) under the Ministry of Industries [1 p.17]; BSEC holds 1,34,64,000 shares, 51.00% of the 2,64,00,000 shares [1 p.33]. The interim notes give the principal activity as "production and sales of electrical cables & conductor" [2 p.5].

The latest annual accounts in the corpus are for the year to 30-Jun-2025: the Statement of Financial Position is headed "As at 30 June 2025" and the Statement of Profit or Loss "For the year ended 30 June 2025" [1 p.49] [1 p.50]. Accounts for the year to 30-Jun-2026 are not in the corpus at 1-Nov-2026, and the DSE archive shows no board-meeting notice for them up to 31-Oct-2026 [11]. The newest figures are the un-audited statements for the nine months to 31-Mar-2026 [2 p.2]. This note sets out the filings; it carries no valuation, rating or view on the share price.

Over FY2020-FY2024 revenue ranged from BDT 385.0m (FY2022) to BDT 750.8m (FY2024) [1 p.36]. FY2025 revenue of BDT 300.6m was the lowest of FY2020-FY2025 [1 p.36]. Net results were losses of BDT 170.6m (FY2020) and BDT 123.7m (FY2021), profits of BDT 9.1m, BDT 12.8m and BDT 15.5m in FY2022-FY2024, and a loss of BDT 116.8m in FY2025 [1 p.36]. The company's MD&A states that sales were lower "due to decrease in sales orders from various parties and others government organizations compare to previous year" [1 p.35], and lists as risks "Inadequate working capital, dependency on bank loan for working capital, difficulties in international procurement of raw materials sudden decline of govt. development project after 5th august 2024" [1 p.35].

Business and volumes: 304.55 tonnes sold in FY2025, 7.7% production use of 4,500 tonnes of printed capacity

How the company earns revenue. Eastern Cables sells cable and conductor by the tonne to local buyers and to export customers. Note 24.00 prints FY2025 Local Sales of 250.09 tonnes (BDT 325,919,164) and Export Sales of 54.46 tonnes (BDT 17,194,086), Total Sales of 304.55 tonnes (BDT 343,113,250), Value Added Tax of BDT (42,511,195) and Net Sales of BDT 300,602,055 [1 p.77]. FY2024 Total Sales were 888.80 tonnes (BDT 848,750,602), with exports of 334.54 tonnes (BDT 101,853,406) [1 p.77]. Export share of Total Sales was 5.0% in FY2025 and 12.0% in FY2024 [16].

The customer list in note 8.01 names state bodies alongside private electrical dealers: REB, Dhaka Local (BDT 20,557,737 at both year ends), PDB, Dhaka (AAC/ACSR) (BDT 5,062,204), PDB Central Purchase (BDT 4,809,145), Dhaka Electric Supply Authority (BDT 2,082,671), Bangladesh Railways, Chittagong (BDT 1,285,533) and others [1 p.63]. The filings do not split revenue between government and private buyers in the pages read.

Note 24.01 splits FY2025 by product. Production was 129.34 tonnes of Domestic Cables, 135.62 tonnes of H.T./L.T. Power Cables, 1.36 tonnes of A.C.S.R. Conductor and 81.11 tonnes of A. AC. Insulated Wasp Ant (347.43 tonnes in all); sales were 99.02, 138.99, nil and 66.54 tonnes (304.55 tonnes) [1 p.77]. Under the heading "Add: Physically Excess Quantity Found" the note adds 48.37 tonnes of power cables and 95.34 tonnes of insulated Wasp Ant to closing stock, which with the 147.67 tonnes of closing stock gives 291.38 tonnes [1 p.77].

Targets. Note 38.00 prints a FY2025 production target and sales target of 2,500 tonnes each, against 4,500 tonnes each in FY2024 [1 p.88]. The MD&A states that the company "is planning to sell 2500 metric ton Cables & Conductors in 2025-2026 financial year" [1 p.36]. Actual FY2025 sales were 304.55 tonnes, 12.2% of that year's 2,500-tonne sales target [1 p.88] [16]. Employees fell from 179 at June 2021 to 102 at June 2025 [1 p.98]; the directors' report gives an approved structure of 410 posts [1 p.20].

Plans. The MD&A states that "the company has planned to setup a XLPE plant, Domestic cable plant, BMRE etc." [1 p.35]. Note 43.03 states: "There was no capital expenditure commitment as on 30th June, 2025 of the company." [1 p.90]. A sweep of DSE company news from 31-Oct-2024 to 31-Oct-2026 (criteria=3) shows no board approval, amount or date for any of these projects [11]. Purchase of property, plant and equipment was BDT 1.3m in FY2025 and BDT 0.5m in the nine months to March 2026 [1 p.52] [2 p.4].

Line items: FY2025 gross margin 8.2%, Financial Expenses 24.3% of revenue

Gross margin. Gross margin was -4.5% in FY2020, 0.6% in FY2021, 30.4% in FY2022, 24.6% in FY2023, 19.5% in FY2024 and 8.2% in FY2025 [16]. Within cost of goods sold, Raw Materials Consumption was BDT 225.9m in FY2025 against BDT 487.9m in FY2024, and Production Overhead was BDT 80.4m against BDT 76.8m [1 p.77]. Raw materials were 75.1% of revenue in FY2025 and 65.0% in FY2024; production overhead was 26.8% and 10.2% [16]. The MD&A states that "production cost/overhead is also lower than the previous year because of reduction in sales revenue" [1 p.35]; that is the company's wording. The FY2025 cost of production also carries Closing Scraps of BDT (8,310,069) and Packing Materials consumption of BDT 3,908,493, lines with no FY2024 amount [1 p.77].

Operating costs. Administrative Expenses were BDT 46.8m in FY2025 (BDT 50.8m in FY2024) and Selling and Distribution Expenses BDT 21.3m (BDT 22.2m) [1 p.50]. The face of the Statement of Profit or Loss prints the FY2025 selling line as 21,276,913 without brackets, against (46,778,274) for administration; the Operating Profit/(Loss) of (43,273,034) equals gross profit less both lines [1 p.50] [16]. Other Income was BDT 10.5m (BDT 5.7m) [1 p.50].

Finance cost. Note 30.00 splits Financial Expenses of BDT 72,958,256 into Bank Charges of BDT 1,360,230 and Interest on Bank Overdraft / CC Loan printed as BDT 71,598,027; FY2024 was BDT 56,458,356 (BDT 1,755,186 and BDT 54,703,171 as printed) [1 p.85]. In both years the printed lines add to BDT 1 more than the printed total. Interest divided by the average of opening and closing short term loan gives 13.7% for FY2025 and 10.1% for FY2024 (derived) [16]. Interest cover, (operating profit plus other income) over Financial Expenses, was -0.45x in FY2025 and 1.40x in FY2024 [16]. The MD&A states that "Financial cost has increased abruptly because of less sales revenue" [1 p.35]; that is the company's wording.

Tax. Income Tax Expenses were BDT 11,108,950 in FY2025 (current tax BDT 10,174,715, deferred tax BDT 934,235) on a loss before tax of BDT 105,736,474 [1 p.50] [1 p.85]. The MD&A states that "Income tax increased because tax is considered the highest amount between the turnover tax and minimum tax paid" [1 p.35]. No WPPF was charged in FY2025; FY2024 carried BDT 1,121,464 [1 p.50].

FY2026 to date: nine-month net loss of BDT 97.7m (EPS BDT (3.70)) on net sales of BDT 206.0m

FY2026 to date. Q1 FY2026 (to 30-Sep-2025) Net Sales were 701.50 lac (BDT 70.2m) against 515.47 lac, with a net loss of (166.11) lac and EPS of BDT (0.63) against (1.44) [4 p.2]. The half year to 31-Dec-2025 printed Net Sales of BDT 151,561,718 and a net loss of BDT (51,857,818), EPS BDT (1.96); its column header reads "TK.IN LAC" over figures printed in taka [3 p.2]. The nine months to 31-Mar-2026 printed Net Sales of BDT 206,005,350 against BDT 231,659,223, gross profit of BDT 2,130,743 against BDT 23,074,900, and a net loss of BDT (97,719,298) against BDT (91,019,168); EPS was BDT (3.70) against BDT (3.45) [2 p.2]. Q3 alone (January-March 2026) had Net Sales of BDT 54,443,632, a gross loss of BDT (11,229,626) and EPS of BDT (1.74) [2 p.2].

The printed quarters do not add up exactly. The H1 FY2026 statement prints a Q2 net loss of BDT (36,078,818), against BDT (35,246,818) obtained by deducting the Q1 loss of (166.11) lac from the half-year loss of BDT (51,857,818) (derived) [4 p.2] [3 p.2]. Net Profit Before Tax ties (Q1 (153.88) lac plus Q2 BDT (35,524,879) equals the half-year BDT (50,912,879)), and the gap sits in the tax lines: Q1 prints deferred tax of (4.16) lac and the half year prints Add/(Less): Deferred Tax of 838,140 [4 p.2] [3 p.2]. NAV per share announced to DSE was BDT 338.69 at 30-Sep-2025, BDT 337.36 at 31-Dec-2025 and BDT 336.80 at 31-Mar-2026 [11]; the 31-Mar-2026 statement prints 336.80 [2 p.1].

The company's DSE explanations, in its words: for Q1 FY2026, "The sales increased compared to previous year so the loss decline than previous year"; for Q2, "The sales increased slightly compared to previous year so the loss a little bit decline than previous year"; for Q3, "The sales decreased compared to previous year so the loss increased than previous year" [11]. For NOCFPS of BDT 3.94 in the nine months, the 9M statement prints "As more receivables has been collected than previous year so the NOCFPS has increased" [2 p.4].

Balance sheet and cash: BDT 8,798.9m revaluation reserve; equity outside it BDT 92.6m at 31-Mar-2026

Revaluation. Shareholders' Equity was BDT 9,098.3m at 30-Jun-2024, BDT 8,958.1m at 30-Jun-2025 and BDT 8,891.5m at 31-Mar-2026, of which the Assets Revaluation Reserve was BDT 8,816.9m, BDT 8,798.9m and BDT 8,798.9m [1 p.49] [2 p.1]. The MD&A table shows equity of 2,751.76 lac at June 2021 and 90,830.92 lac at June 2022, and fixed assets of 1,641.61 lac and 89,540.54 lac on the same dates [1 p.36]. Equity outside the reserve (Share Capital BDT 264.0m, Reserve and Surplus BDT 304.9m and Retained Earnings) was BDT 281.4m at 30-Jun-2024, BDT 159.2m at 30-Jun-2025 and BDT 92.6m at 31-Mar-2026, or BDT 3.51 a share [16]. The OCR text layer of the 30-Jun-2025 statement reads total equity as 6,958,094,012; the page image and the sum of components give 8,958,094,012, and note 32.01 prints NAV of 8,958,094,012 [1 p.49] [1 p.85].

Working capital. Receivable days on revenue were 115 at 30-Jun-2024, 183 at 30-Jun-2025 and 155 at 31-Mar-2026 (on nine-month revenue); inventory days on cost of goods sold were 172, 430 and 300 [16]. Inventories fell from BDT 324.7m to BDT 224.3m in the nine months [2 p.1]. Advances, Deposits and Pre-payments of BDT 1,127.1m at 30-Jun-2025 included Advance Income Tax of BDT 1,064,845,748; note 11 states that "All advances except advance to Railway & North Bengal Paper Mills are considered good" [1 p.68]. Provision for Income Tax was BDT 347.5m on the same date [1 p.49] [16].

Funding. Note 18.00 lists the Short Term Loan of BDT 534,545,702 at 30-Jun-2025: Sonali Bank PLC, North Patenga, BDT 248,902,655; UCBL Agrabad BDT 92,792,079; Basic Bank PLC, Agrabad, CC BDT 102,149,591; and Security Over Draft Loan BDT 90,701,377 [1 p.72]. Note 43.02 lists maximum facilities of BDT 80 crore each at Sonali Bank, UCBL Agrabad and BASIC Bank Ltd. Agrabad [1 p.89]. Note 37.00 states: "There was no other debt of the company except ADP Loan, Quasi Equity Loan and Govt. Loan for Manpower Equalization (Interest Free)." [1 p.88]; that note does not mention the short term bank loans shown in note 18.00.

Cash flow. Cash Received from Customers was BDT 383.6m in FY2025 and BDT 606.4m in FY2024; net cash from operating activities was BDT 32.3m and BDT 149.3m [1 p.52]. Operating cash flow plus capex less financial charge paid was BDT -42.0m in FY2025 and BDT 92.9m in FY2024 [16]. In the nine months to March 2026 cash received from customers was BDT 251.1m, 1.22x net sales; the company states in the 9M statement that the rise in NOCFPS came as "more receivables has been collected than previous year" [2 p.4] [16]. NOCFPS recomputed on 26.4m shares is BDT 1.22 for FY2025 and BDT 3.94 for 9M FY2026, equal to the printed BDT 1.22 and BDT 3.94 [1 p.85] [2 p.4].

Six-year balance-sheet history from the MD&A table: Short term Loan was 6,007.18 lac at June 2020 and 5,345.46 lac at June 2025; the current ratio printed there was 1.32:1 and 1.18:1 [1 p.36]. The same table prints FY2025 Current liabilities as 9922.47 lac; the Statement of Financial Position prints 1,386,889,592 (13,868.90 lac), and the MD&A text on p.35 also gives Tk. 13868,.90 Lac [1 p.36] [1 p.49] [1 p.35]. The model uses the statement figure.

Audit opinion: Qualified Opinion on FY2025 with eight basis paragraphs and two key audit matters

Opinion. MABS & J Partners, Chartered Accountants, signed the FY2025 report on 11 November, 2025 under the heading "Qualified Opinion" [1 p.44] [1 p.48]. The opinion paragraph reads: "In our opinion, except for effect of the matter described in the Basis for Qualified Opinion section of our report, the accompanying financial statements present fairly in all material respects of the statement of financial position of Eastern Cables Limited as at 30 June 2025, and of its financial performance and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), the Companies Act 1994., the Securities and Exchange Rules-2020 and other applicable laws and regulations." [1 p.44]. The report contains no emphasis of matter paragraph [1 p.44] [1 p.45] [1 p.46] [1 p.47]. The eight basis paragraphs, in full and as printed (including the printed spelling), are:

"1. Reference to note no. 5.00 - Property, Plant and Equipment to the financial statements, the company disclosed the cost of Property, Plant and Equipment amounting to BDT 8,909,784,176 as on 30 June 2025. We could not verify the physical existence of the company's property, plant and equipment (except land) due to the absence of tag/identification number in the assets and incomplete fixed assets register. As per IAS 16- Property, Plant and Equipment, which requires entity to maintain adequate records to identify and verify each item of property, Plant and Equipment (paragraph 73-39, relating to discloser and asset identification). Consequently, we are unable to satisfy ourselves as to the existence and completeness of property, plant and equipment. Additionally, the Company has not carried out an impairment assessment of its Property, Plant and Equipment in accordance with IAS 36." [1 p.44]

"2. Reference to note no. 6.00 of its financial statements, the company's deferred tax has not been correctly estimated in accordance with paragraph 17 of IAS 12 and the complete computation of income tax has not been disclosed in the notes to the financial statements in accordance with paragraphs 46 and 81(g) of IAS 12 Income Tax." [1 p.44]

"3. Reference to note no. 7.00 of its the financial statements, the Company did not measured inventory in accordance with para 9 of IAS 2 at the lower of cost and net realizable value (NRV). Furthermore, in note no. 7.02 Stores and Sundry Stocks of its financial statements, it observed that the company has reported a balance of BDT 32,284,801. During our physical verification, we noted that most of these items have been carried forward for several years and could not be properly identified or traced." [1 p.44]

"4. Reference to note no. 8.00 of the financial statements, trade and other receivables amount to BDT 150,614,174 of which BDT 64,053,996 has remained unchanged for several years and the company has also not maintained any aging analysis or recognized any Expected Credit Loss (ECL) as required by IFRS 9, paragraph 5.5. Sixteen confirmation letters were sent to various parties for verification of these balances; however, all were returned as undelivered. Moreover, the company has not provided any subsequent information or documentation to verify the recoverability of these balances or to evaluate subsequent events relating to them." [1 p.44]

"5. Reference to note no. 10.00 of its financial statements, an amount of BDT 16,103,953 has been reported under current assets as "Current Account with Projects under BSEC Dis-invested by Government," has remained outstanding for a prolonged period. The company has not maintained an aging analysis of this account, and due to the unavailability of relevant data, we were unable to obtain independent confirmations or other sufficient appropriate audit evidence to verify its accuracy, existence, and recoverability. Accordingly, we were unable to determine whether any adjustments to this balance might be necessary." [1 p.44]

"6. Reference to note no. 17.00of its financial statements, Defined Benefit Obligations - Gratuity& note no. 19.04 Other Financial Liabilities & Provisions (claim against Gratuity fund), we noted that the company's gratuity liability as per the Gratuity Fund amounts to BDT 236,588,598, whereas the company has recorded BDT 178,721,714 in its financial statements. Consequently, the gratuity liability appears to be understated by BDT 57,866,884 and hence the profit will be reduced by same. Additionally, as per Para 59 of IAS 19, the company needs to conduct actuarial valuation of the gratuity obligation before the end of the reporting period. But actuary valuation regarding gratuity is yet to be conducted.Furthermore, the entity has a gratuity fund approved by the NBR. As per clause -03 of the condition of the approval, the gratuity fund should be audited for every financial year. The company does not comply with this clause." [1 p.45]

"7. With reference to note no. 19.04 to the financial statements, BDT 17,725,109 has been shown as liability for Provident Fund in the Statement of Financial Position of the company as at 30 June 2025. As per section 250(b) of Bangladesh Labor Rules 2015 every company shall pay or transfer the contribution to the provident fund account within 15 days in the following month of the month. Furthermore, the company has recovered BDT 44,066,303 from its provident fund loan, which has yet to be repaid to the provident fund. This amount has not been confirmed through the provident fund account, as no audit was conducted for the provident fund after the most recent one was finished in 2022." [1 p.45]

"8. As disclosed in note no. 21.00 to the financial statements, the company reported Unclaimed Dividend of BDT 29,633,465as on 30 June 2025, though the balance of the bank account for dividend are maintained in separate bank account (AB Bank PLC. No. 4002-538388-000) was BDT 78,749.77 which is the noncompliance of BSEC Directive No. BSEC/CMRRCD/2021-386/03 Dated: 14 January 2021, states that if any cash dividend remains unpaid or unclaimed or unsettled including accrued interest (after adjustment of bank charge, if any) thereon for a period of 3 (three) years from the date of declaration or approval or record date, as the case may be, shall be transferred by the issuer to the fund as directed or prescribed by the Commission. Furthermore, the company did not disclose year wise unclaimed dividend amount to its notes to financial statements." [1 p.45]

Key audit matters, as printed. First: "Tax positions. The Company reported total income tax expense of BDT 10,174,715. The Company is subject to periodic review by local tax authorities on a range of tax matters during the normal course of business including indirect taxes and transaction related tax matters that could eventually require payments of taxes and possible additional charges. The assessment of uncertainty and risk of one or more unfavorable outcomes involve judgement from management. This was a key audit matter because of the amounts involved and because of the estimation of the likely impact and the final outcome of these matters. The Company records provisions for uncertain liabilities, including tax contingencies, when it is more likely than not that a liability has been incurred, and the amount can be reliably estimated." [1 p.45] [1 p.46] The auditor's response: "Use of our own tax specialists to assess the company's tax computation. Our tax specialists were also used to evaluate tax strategies that the company expects will hardly enable the successful recovery of the recognized deferred tax liability taking into account the Company's tax position and our knowledge and experience of the application of relevant tax legislation; To analyses and challenge the assumptions used to determine tax provisions based on our knowledge and experiences of the application of the local legislation; Evaluating the adequacy of the financial statement disclosures, including disclosures of key assumptions, judgments and sensitivities related to tax and deferred tax. Assess the tax provision calculation with reference to Income Tax Act 2023." [1 p.45] [1 p.46]

Second, under the line "Note no. 31.00 to the financial statements": "Revenue Recognition. Revenue of BDT 300,602,055is recognized in the statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income for the year ended 30 June 2025 by the company. This material item is subject to considerable inherent risk due to the complexity of the system necessary for proper recognition, measurement, and substantive audit procedures, including: recording considering the complexity of the standard on revenue recognition, International Financial Reporting Standard 15 "Revenue from Contracts with Customers". Therefore, there is a risk of revenue being misstated as a result of faulty recognitions." The auditor's response: "In light of the fact that the high degree of complexity and estimates and assumptions give rise to and increased risk of accounting misstatements, we assessed the Company's processes and controls for recognizing revenue as part of our audit. Furthermore, in order to mitigate the inherent risk in this audit area, our audit approach included testing of the controls and substantive audit procedures, including: Assessing the environment of the measurement as well as other relevant systems supporting the accounting of revenue. Assessing controls for systems and procedures supporting revenue recognition. Assessing the invoicing and measurement system up to entries in the general ledger.Examining customer invoices and receipts of payment on a test basis in accordance with contract. Testing the revenue recognition in line with contract and reporting standard. Furthermore, we assessed the accounting effects of new business and price models. We assured ourselves of the appropriateness of the systems, Processes, a Controls in place and that the estimates assumptions made by management are sufficient documented and substantiated to ensure that revenue is properly recognized." The box ends: "See Note No-24 to the financial Statement." [1 p.46]

Other matters: "The financial statements of Eastern Cables Limited for the year ended 30th June 2024, were audited by another auditor who expressed a modified opinion on those statements on 10th November, 2024." [1 p.47]. The DSE archive records for FY2024 a "Qualified Opinion" and an "Emphasis of Matter" paragraph (posted 3-Dec-2024) and for FY2025 a "Qualified Opinion" (posted 15-Dec-2025) [11]. The FY2021 report by Shafiq Basak & Co., dated November 10, 2021, was also headed "Qualified Opinion" [5 p.39].

The company's reply. The directors' report (in Bangla) has one paragraph under "২৮.০০ নিরীক্ষকের মতামত" (Auditor's opinion). The company states: "কোম্পানির নিরীক্ষক MABS & J Partners, চার্টার্ড একাউন্ট্যান্টস ২০২৪-২০২৫ অর্থবছরের ইসিএল-এর নিরীক্ষা কার্য সম্পাদন করেছে এবং তারা বিভিন্ন বিষয়ে মতামত ও পরামর্শ প্রেরণ করেছে। নিরীক্ষকের মতামত ও পরামর্শ অনুযায়ী ইসিএল প্রয়োজনীয় ব্যবস্থা গ্রহণ করছে।" [1 p.20]. Our translation: "The company's auditor MABS & J Partners, Chartered Accountants, carried out the audit of ECL for the 2024-2025 financial year and sent opinions and advice on various matters. ECL is taking necessary action in line with the auditor's opinion and advice." The paragraph does not answer the eight basis paragraphs one by one; we found no other explanation against the qualification in the directors' report, the MD&A or the notes in the pages read [1 p.17] [1 p.34].

Where the auditor's figures and the statements differ, both are shown here. Basis paragraph 6 gives a recorded gratuity liability of BDT 178,721,714; the statement of financial position shows Defined Benefit Obligations - Gratuity of BDT 139,903,350, and note 19.04 lists a "Claim against Gratuity fund" among other financial liabilities [1 p.45] [1 p.49] [1 p.74]. Basis paragraph 6 quantifies the understatement at BDT 57,866,884 [1 p.45].

Governance: BSEC holds 51.00%; eleven board meetings in 2024-2025; new MD (In-Charge) from 30-Sep-2026

Ownership at 30-Jun-2025 [1 p.33]: Bangladesh Steel & Engineering Corporation 1,34,64,000 shares (51.00%); directors Md. Shamsur Rahman 5,37,301 (2.04%), Md. Emdadul Haque 5,30,830 (2.01%), Md. Mofizur Rahman 5,30,853 (2.01%) and Md. Habibur Rahman 5,33,903 (2.02%); Others 1,08,03,113 (40.92%). The directors' report states that the Group 'A' directors are nominated by the 51% shareholder BSEC and that one Group 'B' director holding at least 2% of paid-up capital is to be elected [1 p.20].

Board as listed in the Corporate Directory [1 p.9]: Chairman Md. Anwarul Alam; Directors Md. Jahidul Islam, Apurba Kumar Mondal, Md. Abdur Rahim Mallik, Engr. Abdul Malek Morol, Md. Shamsur Rahman, Md. Habibur Rahman, Md, Emdadul Haque and Md. Mofizur Rahman; Independent Directors Md. Abdul Mannan and Dr, Mohammad Moniruzzaman, FCA; Managing Director Engr. Abdul Malek Morol; Company Secretary Nadia Islam; Chief Financial Officer Md. Mahbub Alam Sumon; Head of Internal Audit Mrs. Jahanara Begum. The shareholding annexure lists Shamoly Nabi (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Industries) as a director and does not list Apurba Kumar Mondal; the directors' report table on p.20 lists Apurba Kumar Mondal and not Shamoly Nabi [1 p.33] [1 p.20]. The board-attendance tables on p.32 and p.89 list neither Apurba Kumar Mondal nor Md. Abdur Rahim Mallik [1 p.32] [1 p.89].

Management changes in the DSE archive: the board appointed Mr. Md. Mahbub Alam Sumon as Company Secretary (posted 25-Mar-2026), and Engr. Mohammad Sabbir Awwal joined as Managing Director (In-Charge) with effect from 30.09.2026 (posted 18-Oct-2026) [11]. The 9M FY2026 statements are signed by Md. Mahbub Alam Sumon as Company Secretary and Md. Abdul Halim as Chief Financial Officer [2 p.2]. Directors' fees: note 42.00 prints Board Meeting payments of BDT 1,201,887 (BDT 833,284) and conveyance of BDT 69,155 [1 p.89]; the directors' report gives BDT 9,24,000 for 11 board, 5 audit committee and 2 NRC meetings, excluding VAT and income tax [1 p.18]. Key management compensation in note 36(i) was BDT 2,245,597 (Meeting Attendance Fee 1,394,342; Meeting Expense 192,455; Retirement Benefit Scheme 299,040; Medical and Welfare 18,000; Housing 341,760) against BDT 1,483,914 [1 p.87].

Related parties. Note 36(ii) lists BSEC subsidiaries and the parent, with the year's transactions and balances [1 p.87]. Two items carry figures in two places that differ: the related-party table shows Gazi Wires Ltd. at (3,927,880) marked (Dr) and Pragati Industries Ltd. at (48,436,602) (Cr), and note 19.01A shows Accounts Payable to BSEC projects of BDT 3,927,881 for Gazi Wires Ltd. and BDT 48,436,602 for Pragati Industries Ltd. [1 p.87] [1 p.73]. Note 8.01 lists "A.S.M Shadhudul Hoque Bulbul, director, ECL" among trade receivables at BDT 419 at both 30-Jun-2025 and 30-Jun-2024 [1 p.64]; that name does not appear in the board lists on p.9, p.20, p.32 or p.89. The filings do not state what the BDT 48,447,110 of transactions with Pragati Industries Ltd. comprised in the pages read.

Dividends. The Five Years table prints cash dividends of nil for FY2021, 2% for FY2022, 3% for FY2023, 2% for FY2024 and nil for FY2025, with no bonus shares [1 p.98]. The board recommended no dividend for FY2025 at its 451st meeting on November 11, 2025 [1 p.90] [11]. Unclaimed Dividend Accounts were BDT 29,633,465 at 30-Jun-2025 and at 31-Mar-2026 [1 p.49] [2 p.1].

DSE news: 41 posts in 24 months, six of them changing earlier-announced meetings or venues

DSE disclosures, 31-Oct-2024 to 31-Oct-2026 (old_news.php, criteria=3), 41 posts [11]. Results: Q1 FY2025 EPS (1.44) posted 11-Nov-2024; FY2024 EPS 0.59, NAV 344.63, NOCFPS 5.66 and a 2% cash dividend posted 11-Nov-2024; Q2 FY2025 posted 2-Feb-2025; Q3 FY2025 posted 4-May-2025; FY2025 EPS (4.43), NAV 339.32, NOCFPS 1.22 and no dividend posted 12-Nov-2025; Q1 FY2026 posted 26-Nov-2025; Q2 FY2026 posted 25-Jan-2026; Q3 FY2026 posted 30-Apr-2026. The FY2025 AGM was set for 24.01.2026 with record date 14.12.2025 (posted 12-Nov-2025). CRISL assigned "A-" long term and "ST-3" short term with a Developing outlook (posted 25-Sep-2025).

Changes to earlier posts. No post in the window is titled a correction. Six posts changed an earlier announcement: the AGM venue for FY2024 (4-Feb-2025); the Q3 FY2025 board meeting moved from April 28 to April 30, 2025 (27-Apr-2025); Q1 FY2026 taken off the 451st board meeting (3-Nov-2025); the 451st meeting of November 06, 2025 postponed (9-Nov-2025); the meeting re-set for November 11, 2025 (10-Nov-2025); and the Q1 FY2026 meeting re-set for November 25, 2025 (20-Nov-2025). One more post added the reasons for the Q1 FY2026 deviation (26-Nov-2025). The Q1 FY2025 post gives NAV of Tk. 344.65 at June 30, 2024, against 344.63 in the FY2024 dividend post and in the annual report [11] [1 p.49].

Peers: in FY2025 Eastern's gross margin was 8.2% and BBS Cables' 15.1%

Peer. BBS Cables PLC (DSE: BBSCABLES) is the listed cable maker with a published AnalystBro analysis note [10]. Its note 1.03 describes the business as "manufacturing, trading, selling, distributing all kinds of aluminum cables, copper cables, silicon cables, optical fiber cables, power cables, ..." and house wire cables [9]. Its auditor, T. Hussain & Co., gave an unmodified opinion on the year to 30-Jun-2025 ("In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly, in all material respects (or give a true and fair view of) the financial position of the Company as at June 30, 2025 and (of) its financial performance for the year then ended in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs)."), with an emphasis of matter on gratuity and provident fund [6]. Both companies report a June year, company (not consolidated) statements and no WPPF charge for FY2025 [1 p.50] [8].

Differences in basis. Eastern Cables carries an Assets Revaluation Reserve of BDT 8,798.9m; BBS Cables shows Share Capital and Retained Earnings and no revaluation reserve [1 p.49] [7]. Eastern's Long Term Loans of BDT 77.4m are, as printed in note 16, an A.D.P Loan of BDT 1,467,614 (no interest-free label), a Quasi-Equity Loan (Interest. free) of BDT 67,252,000 and a Govt. Loan for Manpower Equalization of BDT 8,717,121 (described in note 16.03 as an interest free loan); none is a bank loan, and all three are left out of 'bank loans' here, which for Eastern means Short Term Loan only [1 p.72]. Both finance lines are gross as printed: Eastern 'Financial Expenses' (bank charges plus overdraft and CC interest, BDT 72,958,256), which the MD&A calls 'Net Finance cost' (729.58 lac), and BBS 'Finance Cost' [1 p.85] [1 p.35] [8]. Eastern's FY2025 revenue was 14.3% of BBS Cables' [16].

Within this pair for FY2025: revenue fell 60.0% at Eastern and 45.5% at BBS; gross margin was 8.2% and 15.1%; operating margin -14.4% and -14.7%; net margin -38.9% and -40.7%; the finance line was 24.3% and 32.8% of revenue [16]. Bank loans were 3.36x Eastern's equity outside the revaluation reserve and 0.52x BBS Cables' equity [16]. Eastern's MD&A states that it "is the only listed & Govt. owned Cables & Conductors manufacturing company in Bangladesh" and that peer comparison "could not be presented" [1 p.36].

Market data: close of BDT 113.3 on 29-Oct-2026, 0.34x NAV per share

Market data. ECABLES closed at BDT 113.3 on 29-Oct-2026, a market capitalisation of BDT 2,991.1m on 26.4m shares [15] [16]; the DSE company page lists the security [12]. Over DSE trading-day closes from 30-Oct-2025 to 29-Oct-2026 (238 sessions) the highest close was BDT 153.3 on 13-Jul-2026 and the lowest BDT 104.1 on 13-Nov-2025; neither level was repeated on another day [15]. Price to NAV per share at 31-Mar-2026 (BDT 336.80) was 0.34x [16]. Equity outside the revaluation reserve was BDT 92.6m (BDT 3.51 a share) at 31-Mar-2026 [16]. EPS was negative for FY2025 and the nine months to March 2026, so no P/E is shown.

What's next: FY2026 accounts and Q1 FY2027 accounts, not in the corpus at 1-Nov-2026

Items not yet filed are described as not in the corpus at 1-Nov-2026. Dates below marked (inferred) come from board-meeting dates of earlier years; no board date for these items had been notified on DSE by 31-Oct-2026 [11].

Passed events: the FY2025 AGM on 24.01.2026 (passed), outcome unknown [11]; Engr. Mohammad Sabbir Awwal joined as Managing Director (In-Charge) on 30.09.2026 (passed) [11]. LDC: the UN General Assembly adopted the move of Bangladesh's graduation date from 24-Nov-2026 to 24-Nov-2029 on 29-Oct-2026 in New York (30-Oct-2026 in Dhaka) [13] [14].

Risks in the filings: volume, bank funding and eight audit qualifications

Each row above is tied to the line named in the filing that reports it. The company's own MD&A names "Inadequate working capital, dependency on bank loan for working capital, difficulties in international procurement of raw materials" and the decline of government development projects after 5 August 2024 as its risks [1 p.35]; these are the company's statements. The FY2025 Financial Expenses of BDT 73.0m compare with gross profit of BDT 24.8m and other income of BDT 10.5m in the same year [1 p.50].

Key questions: FY2026 tonnage, audit paragraphs, gratuity, bank loans and retained earnings

Returns to shareholders. Over FY2020-FY2025 the company paid cash dividends of 2%, 3% and 2% of par for FY2022-FY2024, with nil for FY2021 and FY2025 [1 p.98]. Operating cash flow was negative in FY2020 and FY2023 and positive in the other four years of FY2020-FY2025 [1 p.36]. Dividends paid in cash were BDT 12.4m in FY2024 and BDT 5.0m in FY2025 [1 p.52].

FAQ

What does Eastern Cables make?

PVC insulated domestic cable, LT and HT power cable with copper conductors, and AAC and ACSR aluminium conductors, at North Patenga, Chattogram [1 p.14].

Who controls Eastern Cables?

Bangladesh Steel & Engineering Corporation holds 1,34,64,000 shares, 51.00% [1 p.33].

What were FY2025 results?

Revenue (Net of VAT) BDT 300,602,055; net loss BDT (116,845,424); EPS BDT (4.43); NAV per share BDT 339.32 [1 p.49] [1 p.50].

What were the latest interim results?

Nine months to 31-Mar-2026: Net Sales BDT 206,005,350, net loss BDT (97,719,298), EPS BDT (3.70), NAV per share BDT 336.80 [2 p.1] [2 p.2].

What did the auditor say about FY2025?

MABS & J Partners issued a Qualified Opinion with eight basis paragraphs and key audit matters on tax positions and revenue recognition [1 p.44] [1 p.45] [1 p.46].

How much of equity is revaluation reserve?

BDT 8,798.9m of BDT 8,891.5m at 31-Mar-2026; equity outside the reserve was BDT 92.6m [2 p.1] [16].

Did Eastern Cables pay a dividend for FY2025?

No. The board recommended no dividend at its meeting on November 11, 2025 [1 p.90] [11].

When are the FY2026 accounts due?

No board date was notified on DSE by 31-Oct-2026; the board met on 10-Nov-2024 and 11-Nov-2025 for the two previous annual accounts, giving 10-Nov-2026 to 11-Nov-2026 (inferred, 2 years) [11].

Sources

1. Eastern Cables Limited Annual Report 2024-2025 (year to 30-Jun-2025), audited financial statements · link · accessed 2026-10-31
2. Eastern Cables Limited un-audited financial statements, third quarter to 31-Mar-2026 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
3. Eastern Cables Limited un-audited financial statements, half year to 31-Dec-2025 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
4. Eastern Cables Limited provisional un-audited accounts, first quarter to 30-Sep-2025 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
5. Eastern Cables Limited Annual Report 2020-2021 (auditor's report dated November 10, 2021) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
6. BBS Cables PLC Annual Report 2024-2025, Independent Auditors' Report (page image) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
7. BBS Cables PLC Annual Report 2024-2025, Statement of Financial Position as at 30 June 2025 (page image) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
8. BBS Cables PLC Annual Report 2024-2025, Statement of Profit or Loss for the year ended 30 June 2025 (page image) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
9. BBS Cables PLC Annual Report 2024-2025, note 1.03 Nature of Business Activities (page image) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
10. AnalystBro published note: BBS Cables financial analysis (Oct 2026) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
11. Dhaka Stock Exchange news archive, ECABLES, 31-Oct-2024 to 31-Oct-2026 (company disclosures) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
12. Dhaka Stock Exchange company page, ECABLES · link · accessed 2026-10-31
13. The Daily Star, 'Bangladesh gets 3 more years for LDC graduation' (30-Oct-2026) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
14. The Business Standard, 'Bangladesh gets 3 more years for LDC graduation' (30-Oct-2026) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
15. AnalystBro price data (TradingView feed): DSE:ECABLES daily bars to 29-Oct-2026 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
16. AnalystBro model for this report (workbook tabs below) · link · accessed 2026-10-31