Fine Foods financial analysis: fingerling sales drive a 94% gross margin under qualified audits (Oct 2026)

Investment considerations: profit up from BDT 0.9m (FY2023) to BDT 165m (FY2026) under three qualified audits

Fine Foods Limited is a small agricultural company listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange since 2002 [9]. It farms fish and raises fingerlings (young fish sold to other fish farmers) at two pond sites, Unit-1 in Katiadi, Kishoreganj and Unit-2 in Mymensingh [1 p.16] [2 p.5]. It has 13.97 million shares, no borrowings and about 14 permanent staff in administration [1 p.61] [9] [1 p.73]. Its fiscal year ends on 30 June [1 p.46].

For most of the last decade the company earned almost nothing. Net profit was between a loss of BDT 1.6m and a profit of BDT 3.5m a year from FY2018 to FY2023, on revenue of BDT 46-62m [7 p.32] [6 p.37] [5 p.42] [3 p.40]. Then the numbers changed: profit was BDT 12.3m in FY2024, BDT 58.5m in FY2025 and BDT 165m in FY2026 (EPS BDT 11.81, announced by DSE on 8-Oct-2026) [1 p.39] [8]. Revenue roughly doubled over the same period, but profit rose about 180-fold, because cost of goods sold fell while sales rose. This note sets out what the filings show about that change and what they do not.

Business: a two-site fish farm where fingerlings now earn 77% of revenue

What the company does now. The managing director's discussion describes Fine Foods as 'an agro based Company' that is 'engaged in producing and marketing of various type of fish, fingerlings etc.', selling 'through its buyers to all over the country' [1 p.16]. It reports a single business and geographic segment and earned no foreign currency in FY2025 [1 p.72], so it is a domestic freshwater aquaculture business, not a seafood exporter. The P&L splits revenue into two products: fish (tilapia, rui, katla, mrigal, common carp, pangas and others) and fingerlings [1 p.39] [2 p.11].

The assets are ponds. Of the BDT 64.8m of property, plant and equipment at March 2026, BDT 22.3m is land and land development, BDT 30.3m pond excavation (both not depreciated), and the rest dams, dykes, sheds and a fishery hatchery at Mymensingh with a written-down value of BDT 1.3m [2 p.14]. There have been no fixed-asset additions in FY2024, FY2025 or 9M FY2026 [1 p.41] [2 p.4]. The balance sheet also carries 'capital stock' of BDT 3.0m: mahogany and other trees planted in 1997 and a herd of cattle [2 p.5].

How it changed. In FY2017-FY2023 the company was a fish farm with revenue of BDT 46-62m and gross margin mostly between 3% and 15% [16]. The shift came through fingerlings. In FY2025 fingerlings earned BDT 86.6m of the BDT 118.9m revenue (72.8%) and BDT 63.4m of the BDT 76.2m gross profit [1 p.39]. In 9M FY2026 fingerlings were BDT 104.6m, 77.3% of revenue, while fish revenue was BDT 30.8m [2 p.11]. Kishoreganj (Unit-1) earned BDT 86.1m and Mymensingh (Unit-2) BDT 49.3m of 9M revenue [2 p.11].

New businesses. On 3-May-2026 the company told DSE that the board had decided 'to take initiatives to start a new poultry farms and other agricultural and food-related businesses gradually' [8]. No capex, site or timetable was given, and the March 2026 balance sheet shows no capital commitment beyond a BDT 4.5m advance for feed and fingerling purchase [2 p.1] [2 p.4]. The 9M FY2026 accounts also show a first investment in listed shares (BDT 6.0m at cost) and 'vegetable & other' income of BDT 5.3m [2 p.1] [2 p.12].

Margins: cost of goods sold fell from BDT 56m to BDT 43m while revenue doubled

Revenue. Sales grew 19.1% in FY2024 and 62.0% in FY2025, after six years in a BDT 46-62m band [16]. Management gives one reason in each filing: 'the total sales revenue of the Company has been increased due to which EPS has been increased' [2 p.13] [8]. The filings do not give the number of fingerlings or kilograms of fish sold, the customers or the price per unit for the year as a whole, so we cannot split growth into volume and price. The FY2025 revenue is one of the items the auditor could not verify [1 p.33].

Cost of goods sold. This is the line that made the profit. COGS was BDT 55-57m a year in FY2021-FY2023, fell to BDT 54.1m in FY2024 and BDT 42.7m in FY2025, and was BDT 7.8m for 9M FY2026 against revenue of BDT 135.4m [3 p.40] [1 p.39] [2 p.2]. COGS is built from feed and other raw materials, fingerlings bought in, wages, fertiliser, medicine and fuel, less the change in fish and fingerling stocks [2 p.11] [2 p.12]. In 9M FY2026 inventories of fish, fingerlings and raw materials rose by BDT 55.1m while COGS was BDT 7.8m, so roughly 88% of the period's production and purchase costs stayed in inventory instead of passing through COGS [2 p.1] [2 p.2]. Raw-material purchases are allocated between fish and fingerlings 'based on percentage of sales' [2 p.12], so the product-level margins depend on that allocation.

There is an internal inconsistency. For January-March 2025 the face of the P&L shows COGS of BDT 0.69m, while note 12 for the same quarter shows BDT 15.47m [2 p.2] [2 p.11]. We use the face figures in the model and flag the difference.

Operating expenses are small and stable: BDT 3.2-4.7m a year, mainly salaries, AGM and listing costs [16] [2 p.12]. The P&L shows no selling and distribution expense at all [1 p.39]. Financial expense is only the interest on a small office lease (BDT 38,342 in FY2025) [1 p.39].

Workers' profit participation (WPPF) and tax. WPPF is provided at 5% of profit; the fund balance grew to BDT 10.4m at March 2026 and FY2025's transfer of BDT 2.1m was the first payment shown in the cash flow [2 p.9] [1 p.41]. Tax is provided at 15% of taxable farm income and 22.5% on other income [2 p.9]; the provision for tax rose to BDT 35.9m at March 2026 with no tax paid in 9M FY2026 [2 p.1] [2 p.4]. Assessments for 2021-22 to 2022-23 are listed as complete and 2023-24 as 'return submitted' [2 p.10].

Cash conversion: FY2025 CFO was 0.40x profit, and receivables reached BDT 61m by March 2026

Cash conversion is the test of reported profit, and here the record is mixed. Operating cash flow was negative in FY2021 and FY2023, BDT 1.4m in FY2022 and BDT 1.9m in FY2024 [5 p.44] [4 p.44] [1 p.41]. In FY2025 it was BDT 23.3m, 0.40x net profit of BDT 58.5m [16]. Cash collected from customers was 83.6% of revenue in FY2025 against 99-102% in FY2021-FY2023 [16]; the gap went into receivables.

Receivables. Trade receivables were BDT 3.8-9.1m from 2022 to 2024, then BDT 28.6m at June 2025 and BDT 61.3m at March 2026 [4 p.40] [1 p.37] [2 p.1]. Receivable days went from 23 (June 2023) to 88 (June 2025) and about 124 on annualised 9M revenue (March 2026) [16]. The FY2025 receivables note lists ten Kishoreganj debtors; the two largest are individuals, Niaz Mamnoon Rahman (BDT 7.20m) and Alamgir Kobir (BDT 6.89m), both new in FY2025 and both aged 'within 30 days' [1 p.60]. The note says the receivables 'are considered good and subsequently realized' [1 p.61].

Inventory. Stocks of fish, fingerlings and raw materials rose from BDT 89.4m (June 2024) to BDT 114.5m (June 2025) and BDT 169.6m (March 2026), almost half of total assets [1 p.37] [2 p.1]. Inventory has been about one year of revenue for most of the decade (123% in 2019, 96% in 2025) [16], and the June 2025 note splits it into fish, fingerlings and raw materials (BDT 1.6m) [1 p.60]. The auditor could take part of the June 2025 stock count only, and 'could not verify the full inventory balance' [1 p.33]. The auditor also says plantation and livestock fall under IAS 41 as biological assets but are carried at historical cost [1 p.33].

The fourth quarter of FY2026 reversed the cash trend. Nine-month operating cash flow was BDT 52.4m (NOCFPS BDT 3.75), but the full year was NOCFPS BDT 1.90, about BDT 26.6m [2 p.4] [8]. That implies an operating cash outflow of roughly BDT 26m in April-June 2026, while Q4 EPS was BDT 4.03 (profit of about BDT 56m) [16]. The FY2026 annual report, which will show why, is not yet in our corpus.

Related parties and audit: a BDT 7.2m debtor with the same name as the MD, share-trading gains and seven audit qualifications

Related parties. The FY2025 related-party note reads: 'During the period, the company has not carried out a number of transactions with related parties in the normal course of business' [1 p.72]. It does not list any party or balance. The only directors' remuneration disclosed is the managing director's salary and bonus (BDT 3.25m in FY2025); directors received no board fees [1 p.72]. Two points are not explained in the filings. First, the largest FY2025 trade debtor is named Niaz Mamnoon Rahman (BDT 7,196,515) [1 p.60]; the FY2025 annual report lists Mr. Niaz Mamnoon Rahman as managing director and CEO, and DSE announced his appointment as managing director for five years from 19-Nov-2025 [1 p.5] [8]. M.A. Fayez signed the FY2025 MD&A and is shown as Managing Director & CEO in the FY2025 board-attendance note [1 p.16] [1 p.72]. The filings do not say whether the debtor and the managing director appointed from 19-Nov-2025 are the same person. Second, a director is nominated by Centex Fashions Ltd. [1 p.62]; no transactions with Centex are disclosed.

Investments in shares. Fine Foods held no listed shares at June 2025. By March 2026 it had invested BDT 6.0m and booked BDT 11.0m of 'Share Realized Gain' in other income (BDT 4.0m in January-March 2026 alone) [2 p.1] [2 p.4] [2 p.12]. The cash flow shows only the BDT 6.0m purchase, so the realised gains imply larger trading during the period than the closing balance shows. Share gains have appeared before: BDT 0.27m in FY2021 and BDT 0.29m in FY2023 [5 p.42] [3 p.40].

Other unusual items. 'Vegetable & Other' income of BDT 5.3m appeared in 9M FY2026, BDT 5.0m of it in the March quarter [2 p.12]. Cattle were sold in FY2023 for BDT 4.3m [4 p.44]. Total other income of BDT 16.2m in 9M FY2026 was 14.9% of net profit, against almost nil in earlier years [16]. The dividend is also split by holder: for FY2026 the board recommended 40.5% cash for general shareholders and 5% for sponsors-directors; for FY2024 sponsors-directors took no dividend [8].

Audit. The FY2025 auditor, G. Kibria & Co., gave a qualified opinion on seven grounds [1 p.33] [1 p.34]. (1) On revenue of BDT 118,898,990, trade receivables of BDT 28,566,658, purchase of raw materials of BDT 37,937,850, cost of fingerling purchased of BDT 26,241,950 and trade payable of BDT 1,297,859: 'the company conducted almost all transactions in cash. Due to unavailability of reliable supporting information and the nature of these transactions, we were unable to verify their authenticity.' (2) On capital stock of BDT 3,045,273: 'the company have been valuing the asset at Historical cost, which constitutes a direct non-compliance with IAS 41.' (3) On inventories of BDT 114,521,602: 'the company was able to facilitate our stock-taking procedure only partially. Consequently, we could not verify the full inventory balance.' (4) On salaries of BDT 3,621,400: 'the company paid employee salaries in cash', which under section 55 (ta) of the Income Tax Act 2023 'will be inadmissible'. (5) Paid-up capital of BDT 139,739,180 is 'lower than the required minimum paid-up capital' and 'This constitutes a violation of rules and regulation of the Bangladesh Securities Exchange Commission (BSEC).' (6) 'The Company has not yet established or recognized any Gratuity Fund and Provident Fund for its employees.' (7) 'The company did not properly recognize the payment of BDT 899,772 made to the Capital Market Stabilization Fund (CMSF).'

The FY2024 opinion was also qualified on five points [3 p.34]: cash transactions it was 'unable to verify' (revenue BDT 73.4m, receivables, raw-material and fingerling purchases); no 'updated fixed assets list or register'; plantation and livestock at historical cost (IAS 41); a stock count it could not carry out for BDT 55.8m of fingerlings and raw materials; and salaries paid in cash. DSE posted a qualified opinion for FY2026 on 26-Oct-2026 [8]; its basis is not yet in our corpus. The Financial Express reported on 17-Jan-2025 that unnamed analysts said the profit surge was 'suspicious' because quarterly earnings were well above earlier records [12]; we found no second outlet.

Ratios: ROE from under 1% (FY2023) to 32% (FY2025) with no debt and no capex

Returns. ROE was 1.7% in FY2020, 0.6% in FY2023, 8.1% in FY2024 and 32.2% in FY2025 [16]. On the DSE-announced FY2026 figures (profit about BDT 165m, NAV BDT 25.20) ROE was roughly 59% [8] [16]. Because the business has no debt and no capex, ROE moves with the gross margin.

Efficiency. Asset turnover was 0.53x in FY2025 against 0.33x in FY2019 [16]. Inventory days on COGS were around 490-600 days until FY2024 and 979 in FY2025, because COGS shrank while stocks grew [16]. Fixed assets have not been added to since at least FY2024, so the extra revenue came from the same ponds [1 p.41] [2 p.4].

Payout. Cash dividends to general shareholders exceeded EPS in FY2022 (BDT 0.15 vs 0.024) and FY2023 (BDT 0.125 vs 0.066) [16]. In FY2025 the general-shareholder payout was 33% of EPS, and for FY2026 BDT 4.05 against EPS BDT 11.81 (34%) [8]. Dividends paid in cash were BDT 11.6m in FY2025 including dividend tax [1 p.41].

Price history: BDT 45 to BDT 514 in four years, now 17.4x book

These are facts about the share price set against the reported figures; they are not a view on the price. At 30 June 2022 the stock was BDT 45.2 and FY2022 EPS was BDT 0.024; at 30 June 2026 it was BDT 513.9 and FY2026 EPS was BDT 11.81 [15] [9]. Over the four years the price rose about 11-fold and EPS about 492-fold, while NAV per share rose from BDT 10.64 to BDT 25.20 [4 p.40] [8]. The price moved first: it more than doubled in FY2023 (to BDT 117.7), a year in which EPS was BDT 0.066 [16].

The 52-week range to October 2026 was BDT 270.0-595.9 [9]. The monthly high of BDT 595.9 came in May 2026, after the Q3 results [15]. DSE asked the company about an 'unusual price hike' in September 2025; the company replied that there was 'no undisclosed price sensitive information' [8]. The Financial Express reported a 61% rise in two months after the FY2024 dividend and a 18.7% weekly fall in January 2025 [12]. On 29-Oct-2026 the stock closed at BDT 438.9, 26.3% below the peak [15].

Multiples as facts: 37.2x FY2026 EPS, 17.4x June 2026 NAV and a 0.92% yield to general shareholders [16]. At June 2022 the P/B was 4.2x. The market value of BDT 6.13bn compares with FY2025 revenue of BDT 118.9m and FY2026 profit of about BDT 165m [16]. Free float is high: sponsors-directors hold 13.92%, institutions 20.71% and the general public 65.37% [9]; daily volume on 29-Oct-2026 was 19,119 shares (BDT 8.4m) [9].

Peers: a 64% gross margin against 10% and 26% at the listed fish exporters

There is no other listed freshwater fish or fingerling farm on the DSE. The closest listed food processors with fish exposure are Apex Foods (frozen shrimp exporter) and Gemini Sea Food (frozen fish and shrimp exporter); both process and export rather than farm, so they are comparable on balance sheet and cash conversion more than on margin. Figures below are from each company's own audited statements; labels are quoted as printed. Gemini's FY2025 annual report is not in our corpus, so its FY2024 is used [10 p.46] [11 p.73]. Gemini Sea Food has filed no financial statements since its Q3 FY2025 accounts (to 31-Mar-2025), so FY2024 is its latest audited year available.

On those filings, Fine Foods' FY2025 gross margin of 64.1% compares with 10.5% at Apex ('GROSS PROFIT' over 'REVENUE') and 25.8% at Gemini ('Gross Profit/(Loss)' over 'Revenue'), gaps of 53.6pp and 38.2pp [16]. Net margin was 49.2% against 1.7% and 7.6%. All three show operating cash flow below profit: Apex's 'Net cash generated from / (used in) operating activities' was BDT -337.4m and Gemini's 'Net Cash Generated from Operating Activities' BDT -101.4m, both on large working-capital builds funded by bank loans [10 p.48] [11 p.75]. Apex also holds listed shares (BDT 399.9m 'Investment in Financial Assets') [10 p.45].

Dividends and governance: cash payout rose to 40.5% while sponsors hold under 14%

Dividend record. From 2009 to 2018 the company paid only stock dividends (15% in 2009, 25% in 2010, 10% in 2011 and 2012, 2% in 2013, 2016 and 2017, 3% in 2018) [9]. Cash dividends began at 2% for FY2019 and 1% for FY2020; none was paid for the FY2021 loss; then 1.5% (FY2022), 1.25% (FY2023), 10% (FY2024), 14% (FY2025) and 40.5% (FY2026) [9] [8]. Since FY2024 the board has paid sponsors-directors less than general shareholders: nothing for FY2024, 4% for FY2025 and 5% for FY2026 [8]. DSE moved the stock from B to A category from 30-Jan-2025 after the FY2024 dividend was paid [8].

Ownership. Sponsors-directors held 15.25% at June 2025 and 13.92% at September 2026; institutions fell from 25.08% to 20.71% and the public rose from 59.67% to 65.37% [9]. Two directors, Md. Salauddin Haider and Md. Jashim Uddin Ahmed, bought shares during FY2025 [1 p.62]. The board in the FY2025 report has a chairman, the managing director, directors including one nominated by Centex Fashions Ltd., and independent directors; it met eight times in FY2025 [1 p.5] [1 p.72]. M.A. Fayez signed the FY2025 MD&A as managing director [1 p.16]; DSE announced Niaz Mamnoon Rahman's appointment as MD from 19-Nov-2025 [8]. The auditor changed from A. Hoque & Co. (FY2022-FY2023) to G. Kibria & Co. (FY2024-FY2025) [4 p.42] [1 p.38].

What's next: the FY2026 annual report before the 26-Dec-2026 AGM is the main signpost

Items already disclosed that will move the lines (direction only, no forecast):

Risks: the reliability of cash-based revenue and inventory matters more than fish prices

Each risk below is tied to the line it moves. The biggest is the reliability of the reported numbers, because the auditor could not verify the revenue and purchases, or the full inventory balance, on which the profit rests [1 p.33].

Key questions: volumes, the BDT 7.2m debtor and the Q4 cash outflow

Fine Foods is a small, cash-based fish and fingerling farm. The filings show the profit coming from lower cost of goods sold, rising fingerling sales and, in FY2026, other income; they also show receivables and inventory growing faster than revenue, and an auditor that could not verify the main lines for FY2025. The filings do not disclose volumes or unit prices, so the profit rise cannot be split into its causes from the filings alone. On 29-Oct-2026 the shares traded at 37.2x FY2026 EPS and 17.4x June 2026 NAV [16].

FAQ

What does Fine Foods Limited do?

It farms freshwater fish and raises fingerlings at Kishoreganj and Mymensingh and sells them in Bangladesh; fingerlings were 73% of FY2025 revenue [1 p.39].

When does Fine Foods' fiscal year end?

30 June [1 p.46].

What did Fine Foods earn in FY2026?

EPS BDT 11.81, NAV per share BDT 25.20 and NOCFPS BDT 1.90, as announced on DSE on 8-Oct-2026 [8].

Is the audit opinion clean?

No. FY2024, FY2025 and FY2026 opinions are qualified; FY2025 cites unverifiable cash sales and purchases and a partial inventory count [1 p.33] [8].

What dividend did Fine Foods declare for FY2026?

40.5% cash for general shareholders and 5% for sponsors-directors; record date 12-Nov-2026, AGM 26-Dec-2026 [8].

Does Fine Foods have debt?

No bank loans; the only finance cost is an office lease [1 p.39] [9].

Sources

1. Fine Foods Limited Annual Report 2024-25 (year to 30-Jun-2025) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
2. Fine Foods Limited unaudited financial statements, nine months to 31-Mar-2026 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
3. Fine Foods Limited Annual Report 2023-24 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
4. Fine Foods Limited Annual Report 2022-23 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
5. Fine Foods Limited Annual Report 2021-22 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
6. Fine Foods Limited Annual Report 2019-20 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
7. Fine Foods Limited Annual Report 2017-18 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
8. Dhaka Stock Exchange, FINEFOODS news archive (company disclosures, Nov-2024 to Oct-2026) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
9. Dhaka Stock Exchange, FINEFOODS company page (dividend history, shareholding, market data, 29-Oct-2026) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
10. Apex Foods Limited Annual Report 2024-25 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
11. Gemini Sea Food PLC Annual Report 2023-24 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
12. The Financial Express, 'Fine Foods stock plunges despite 230pc profit jump' (17-Jan-2025) · 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:FINEFOODS, DSE:APEXFOODS, DSE:GEMINISEA bars to 29-Oct-2026 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
16. AnalystBro model for this report (workbook tabs below) · link · accessed 2026-10-31