GPH Ispat financial analysis: finance cost takes 94% of operating profit at 48% billet utilisation (Oct 2026)

An electric-arc steel maker that earns an operating profit but pays almost all of it to lenders: finance cost was 94% of operating profit in FY2026

What it is. GPH Ispat Limited melts steel scrap into MS billet and rolls billet into MS rod (rebar) and medium sections at Masjiddah, Kumira, Sitakunda, Chattogram [7 p.1] [1 p.34]. Its fiscal year ends on 30 June: FY2026 is 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 [1 p.13], and DSE also lists the year end as 30-Jun [9]. The company was incorporated in 2006, began commercial production in August 2008 and listed on the Dhaka and Chittagong exchanges in April 2012 [1 p.13]. Its large step was the expansion plant, whose plant and machinery the accounts call the 'QEAF project' [1 p.18]: 840,000 tonnes a year of billet and 640,000 tonnes of rod and sections, supplied by Primetal Technologies Austria, in commercial production from 21-Jun-2021 [7 p.1]. Installed capacity now stands at 1,050,000 tonnes of billet and 790,000 tonnes of rod [1 p.45]. The filings do not use the name 'QSPS'; we refer to it as the expansion (QEAF) plant.

Where it stands. FY2026 net revenue fell 29.7% to Tk 39,401m as billet output fell 19% to 498,520 tonnes and rod output fell 24% to 484,757 tonnes [1 p.10] [1 p.45]. Gross margin still rose to 17.9% from 14.0%, and profit from operating activities was Tk 5,883m, but finance cost of Tk 5,508m took 93.6% of it [1 p.10] [19]. Profit after tax was Tk 35m (EPS Tk 0.07) after a loss of Tk 246m (EPS Tk -0.51) in FY2025 [1 p.10]. The auditor, Ali Zahir Ashraf & Co., gave an unmodified opinion with an emphasis of matter on third-party balance confirmations, few of which were received [1 p.2]. The board recommended a 2% cash dividend for general shareholders only, the sponsors and directors waiving theirs [1 p.47] [8]. The shares closed at Tk 15.3 on 29-Oct-2026 [10].

What drives shareholder returns. GPH is a volume and interest-rate story more than a price story. Each 100,000 tonnes of rod at FY2026's gross profit of about Tk 14,500 a tonne is roughly Tk 1.45bn of gross profit [19], against FY2026 profit before tax of Tk 616m [1 p.10]. Below the gross line, finance cost has been above Tk 4.8bn in each of the last four years [4 p.6] [4 p.7] [3 p.10] [3 p.11] [2 p.9] [2 p.10] [1 p.9] [1 p.10]. Without a large rise in volume or a cut in debt, operating profit and finance cost cancel out, and minimum tax on turnover (Tk 335m in FY2026, at 0.82% of gross receipts) takes the rest [1 p.38]. Capital allocation has gone into plant (Tk 7.7bn of capex paid in FY2026, with capital work-in-progress up to Tk 9,478m) [1 p.12] [1 p.27] and a two-for-one rights issue at par to repay loans was proposed in September 2026 but put on hold by the board on 24-Oct-2026 and deferred by the 25-Oct-2026 AGM [8].

• Does volume recover? Signpost: Q1 FY2027 revenue (by 11-Dec-2026 on last year's timing; Q1 FY2026 was disclosed on 11-Dec-2025) against Tk 9.3bn in Q3 and Tk 7.3bn in Q4 FY2026.
• Will the rights issue return? Signpost: any new board decision after the 25-Oct-2026 AGM deferral; it would raise Tk 9,678m to repay loans.
• What is in capital work-in-progress of Tk 9,478m? Signpost: the FY2026 annual report's directors' report, not in our corpus.
• Does the dollar exposure keep shrinking? Signpost: note 45.03 USD liabilities (US$151.7m at June 2026, US$167.1m a year earlier).
• Do related-party balances grow? Signpost: note 38 (GPH Power Generation payable Tk 723m; Arbee Textiles loan Tk 683m).

Solvency first: Tk 34.3bn of borrowings fall due within 12 months and interest cover is 1.07x

The F15 steel format puts the balance sheet first for stressed names, and GPH meets the main red flag: finance cost above 75% of operating profit in FY2023 (82%), FY2025 (92%) and FY2026 (94%) [19]. At 30-Jun-2026 borrowings were Tk 47,182m of long-term loans (Tk 6,299m due within a year) and Tk 28,026m of short-term borrowings [1 p.9] [1 p.33]. The company's own maturity table puts Tk 34,324m of loans in the 'within 12 months' bucket and Tk 40,884m beyond [1 p.49]. Against that stood Tk 425m of cash and Tk 3,370m of fixed deposits and bonds, much of it held as lien or L/C margin with the lending banks [1 p.29]. Net debt was Tk 71,413m, or 8.9 times EBITDA of Tk 8,016m [19].

The debt stack. Long-term debt is project money for the expansion plant: a syndicated taka loan of Tk 9,968m arranged by United Commercial Bank with 19 lenders (Tk 7,051m outstanding, 11.25-15.00%), an ECA-backed loan of US$94.84m from ODDO BHF of Germany (Tk 6,014m outstanding, SOFR + 3.08%), a US$44.2m long-term financing facility (Tk 2,604m, 5.25%) and bilateral term loans of Tk 30,491m at 11.25-15.00% [1 p.33] [1 p.34] [1 p.35]. Term loans nearly doubled from Tk 16,280m in FY2025 [1 p.33], while short-term borrowings fell by Tk 5,677m [1 p.12]: the company swapped short-term bank lines for longer term loans during the year. All of it is secured on the land and plant and guaranteed personally by the sponsor directors and by two group companies, Jahangir & Others Ltd and GPH Power Generation Ltd [1 p.34] [1 p.35]. Two directors also lend the company Tk 800m (Mohammed Jahangir Alam Tk 500m, Mohammed Almas Shimul Tk 300m) [1 p.36].

Deferred LCs. Inside short-term borrowings, 'Other liabilities from bank' of Tk 10,017m is the taka value of US$81.5m of 'Liability for Accepted Bills for Payment', i.e. scrap and materials imported on deferred-payment LCs that the banks have accepted and that must be paid in dollars [1 p.36] [1 p.49]. Beyond the balance sheet, open L/C liabilities were Tk 16,288m and bank guarantees Tk 1,038m [1 p.47]. The pattern of the cash-flow statement shows the strain: interest and bank charges paid were Tk 5,530m in FY2026, 73% of operating cash flow, and in FY2025 they were 1.9 times it [19] [1 p.12].

Why the company still trades normally. Banks have kept rolling the short-term lines, the auditor did not raise a going-concern uncertainty [1 p.2], and the directors state that the company 'has adequate resources to continue its operation in foreseeable future' [1 p.14]. CRAB assigned an initial long-term rating of A1 with a short-term ST-3 in February 2026, below the AA-/ST-2 Alpha Rating surveillance rating of March 2025 [8]. A Daily Star report of 11-Oct-2026 put GPH's liabilities at about Tk 12,000 crore, a figure that does not tie to the accounts (total liabilities Tk 83,191m at 30-Jun-2026, or about Tk 100.5bn with Tk 17,327m of L/C and guarantee contingents [1 p.9] [1 p.47]); it may include group companies. The same report quoted the BSMA secretary general urging policymakers to 'restructure loans for viable mills' [15]; that is one outlet's report and is attributed to it. The company's own route to deleveraging has met resistance: BSEC declined a Tk 2,419m rights issue in May 2025 and a Tk 5,000m preference-share issue in June 2025, and the 2R:1 rights issue at Tk 10 proposed in September 2026 was put on hold by the board on 24-Oct-2026 and deferred by the 25-Oct-2026 AGM [8].

The expansion plant runs at half its billet capacity: 498,520 t of billet and 484,757 t of rod in FY2026

Route. GPH is a melt-and-roll producer. Its raw-material inventory lists melting scrap (Tk 3,832m at June 2026), sponge iron, lime, dolomite, chemicals and pet coke, and its stores hold refractory bricks, graphite electrodes, rolls and mould powder [1 p.30]. Graphite electrodes (Tk 709m in stock) are the consumable of electric-arc furnaces; with the 'QEAF' name in the revaluation note [1 p.18], the filings point to an electric-arc route for the expansion plant, though they do not describe the furnace. Revenue is almost all MS rod: Tk 40,385m of gross local rod sales in FY2026, Tk 81m of rod exports and Tk 227m of industrial gases, with no billet sold outside [1 p.39]. Most billet is therefore consumed in the company's own rolling mill.

Capacity history. Before the expansion GPH was a small producer: FY2019 revenue was Tk 13,269m and total assets Tk 31,493m, of which Tk 19,761m was capital work-in-progress for the new plant [4 p.6] [4 p.7]. Cold commissioning finished on 14-Jan-2020; foreign technicians left during COVID-19, so trial products were sold from 7-Sep-2020 and commercial production was declared from 21-Jun-2021 'partially', with full-capacity output expected only later [6 p.1] [7 p.1]. The 2020 notice said total capacity would become 1,008,000 tonnes of billet and 760,000 tonnes of rod [6 p.1]; since FY2021 the audited capacity note has shown 1,050,000 tonnes and 790,000 tonnes [3 p.48] [1 p.45].

FY2026 volumes. Billet output fell 19% and rod output 24% [1 p.45]. The company's own explanation in its quarterly disclosures is demand: second-quarter EPS fell because of 'a significant decline in sales revenue' and third-quarter EPS fell 'mainly due to a significant decrease in sales volume' [8]. Quarterly net revenue confirms it: Tk 15,851m in Q3 FY2025, Tk 9,274m in Q3 FY2026 and Tk 7,259m in Q4 FY2026 [5 p.3] [19]. The audited accounts do not disclose sales tonnes, so we use rod production as the volume measure and flag that net revenue per tonne of rod produced (Tk 81,273 in FY2026) is a proxy [19].

Market context. The steel association's figures, as reported by The Daily Star, put annual capacity at about 1.22 crore tonnes against domestic demand of about 50 lakh tonnes, with some plants running at 50-60% because of load shedding and low gas pressure [14]. A second Daily Star report a month later put consumption at an estimated 40 lakh tonnes, down from about 70 lakh, with the government's share of consumption down from about 60% to 20%, and quoted BSRM as running at about 80% of capacity [15]. These are association and company statements carried by one newspaper; we attribute them rather than treat them as established. In that market GPH, with a large plant and a heavy interest bill, sold less, while BSRM's two listed companies ran their melt shops above nameplate (next sections).

Per tonne: rod sold for about Tk 83,300 gross, materials cost about Tk 49,000 per tonne of billet and power about Tk 8,400

Realisation. Gross local rod sales of Tk 40,385m over 484,757 tonnes of rod produced give about Tk 83,300 a tonne in FY2026, down from about Tk 89,100 in FY2025 [19] [1 p.39] [1 p.45]. This includes VAT (Tk 1,292m for the year) and rests on the assumption that sales tonnes are close to production; finished rod stock fell from Tk 4,136m to Tk 3,809m, so sales slightly exceeded output [1 p.30]. Market prices moved the other way during the year: The Business Standard reported 'big four' 75-grade rod at mill gate of about Tk 92,000 a tonne for GPH in March 2026, after rises of Tk 8,000-10,000 tied to Middle East tensions and scrap costs [16], and The Daily Star cited TCB 60-grade prices of Tk 92,500-94,500 in September and October 2026 [14] [15], against Tk 83,500-86,000 a year earlier [15]. The gap between list prices and GPH's average suggests discounting and product mix; the same Daily Star article quoted the Anwar Group chairman on 'discounts we are giving internally' of about Tk 1,500 a tonne [14].

Scrap. The notes do not split scrap from other materials, so the closest measure is raw and other materials consumed (Tk 24,445m) per tonne of billet produced: about Tk 49,000 in FY2026 against Tk 60,200 in FY2025 [19] [1 p.39]. The fall is larger than any reported change in scrap prices and the line includes spares, electrodes and refractories, so we treat it as a rough proxy. For reference, The Business Standard reported in March 2026 that the landed cost of imported scrap at Chattogram had risen from about US$360 to about US$410 a tonne, and ship-breaking scrap to about Tk 58,000 [16]; The Daily Star in October 2026 reported international scrap up about US$20 a tonne [15]. Melting scrap in stock was Tk 3,832m at June 2026 [1 p.30].

Power and gas. Electricity is the second cost of an arc furnace. The electricity bill was Tk 4,166m in FY2026 (Tk 5,029m in FY2025), or about Tk 8,360 per tonne of billet, slightly more per tonne than the year before as fixed loads were spread over less output [1 p.40] [19]. Gas, used for reheating, cost Tk 567m, about Tk 1,170 per tonne of rod [1 p.40] [19]. Power and gas together were 14.6% of cost of goods sold, up from 11.8% [19]. The power is supplied in part by a sister company: GPH Power Generation Ltd supplies 'power at a flat rate' and was owed Tk 723m at June 2026; GPH Renewable Energy Ltd is a second supplier [1 p.46]. Deposits of Tk 100m with the Power Development Board and Tk 125m with Karnaphuli Gas back the grid connections [1 p.30]. The Daily Star reported a 17.86% industrial power tariff increase in June 2026 and quoted the BSMA president, Mohammad Jahangir Alam, putting the cost at about Tk 1,785 a tonne [14].

Gross profit per tonne. Gross profit was about Tk 14,500 per tonne of rod in FY2026 against Tk 12,300 in FY2025 [19]. Two cautions apply. First, the fourth quarter carried a 25.8% gross margin against 17.1% in Q3 and 13.9-15.9% in the second half of FY2025, so year-end entries lifted the annual figure [19] [5 p.3]. Second, factory depreciation of Tk 1,907m sits in cost of goods sold and rises per tonne as output falls [1 p.40].

Eight years: revenue rose from Tk 13.3bn to a Tk 57.7bn peak and fell back to Tk 39.4bn; profit never kept pace

The expansion plant tripled the company. Net revenue rose from Tk 9,407m in FY2020 to Tk 46,828m in FY2022 and peaked at Tk 57,657m in FY2023 [4 p.6] [4 p.7] [3 p.10] [3 p.11] [2 p.9] [2 p.10] [1 p.9] [1 p.10]. Profit after tax peaked earlier, at Tk 1,661m in FY2021, when finance cost was only Tk 1,107m while the plant was still being commissioned and rates were low [3 p.11]. From FY2023 the taka's fall, higher rates and a larger loan book lifted finance cost to Tk 4.8-5.8bn a year [4 p.6] [4 p.7] [3 p.10] [3 p.11] [2 p.9] [2 p.10] [1 p.9] [1 p.10]. FY2023 carried an exchange loss of Tk 2,325m inside finance cost and FY2024 Tk 793m [2 p.40].

Gross margin is stable; the leak is below it. Gross margin ranged from 13.6% (FY2022) to 17.9% (FY2026) and operating margin from 10.6% to 14.9% [19]. The spread between scrap and rod has therefore held up through the cycle. The share of operating profit taken by finance cost, by contrast, went from 34% in FY2021 to 94% in FY2026 [19]. Tax. GPH pays minimum tax on gross receipts whatever its profit: current tax of Tk 335m in FY2026 was 0.82% of gross receipts of Tk 40,946m, against a 'regular' tax of only Tk 41m, and in FY2025 the gap made the effective rate 132% [1 p.38] [19]. The FY2026 notes credit 'the positive impact of changes in the Tax Rules' for part of the EPS recovery [1 p.42].

Selling and administrative costs fell with volume: selling and distribution from Tk 1,031m to Tk 753m, mainly carriage outward (Tk 583m to Tk 404m) and promotional expenses, and administration from Tk 512m to Tk 416m [1 p.41] [1 p.40]. Commission on sales fell from Tk 35.7m to Tk 2.6m [1 p.41]. Finance income of Tk 244m came from fixed deposits (Tk 134m), the Trust Bank bond (Tk 45m) and interest on the loan to Arbee Textiles (Tk 65m) [1 p.41].

US$151.7m of net dollar liabilities: FX losses were Tk 2.3bn in FY2023 and a Tk 22m gain in FY2026

GPH's dollar exposure has three parts: the ECA-backed loan (US$48.95m outstanding), the long-term financing facility (US$21.19m) and accepted bills for payment on deferred LCs (US$81.54m), against US$719 of dollar cash, for a net exposure of US$151.68m, or Tk 18,634m at Tk 122.85 [1 p.49] [1 p.50]. A year earlier the net exposure was US$167.12m [1 p.49]. The company's own sensitivity is that a 2% move in the dollar changes profit by Tk 373m [1 p.50], more than ten times FY2026 net profit of Tk 35m.

Exchange losses are booked in finance cost [1 p.23]. They were Tk 2,325m in FY2023 (when the taka fell sharply), Tk 793m in FY2024, Tk 499m in FY2025, and a gain of Tk 22m in FY2026 when the year-end rate stayed at Tk 122.85 [2 p.40] [1 p.41] [1 p.50]. Stripping them out, interest on bank loans rose from Tk 2,945m in FY2023 to Tk 5,490m in FY2026 [2 p.40] [1 p.41]. The implied rate on year-end borrowings was about 7.3%, low for Bangladesh because a quarter of the debt is in dollars and part of the interest may still be capitalised on capital work-in-progress [19] [1 p.22]; the borrowing-cost policy says interest on the 'BMRE project' is capitalised [1 p.22].

Working capital: inventory of 199 days and advances equal to 35% of revenue

Inventories were Tk 17,619m at June 2026, 199 days of cost of goods sold against 139 days a year earlier [1 p.9] [19]. Only Tk 5,337m is raw material and Tk 5,166m finished goods; Tk 7,116m is spares and other materials, including Tk 1,476m of refractory bricks and Tk 4,798m of spares and consumables [1 p.30]. The auditor named inventories (43.3% of revenue) a key audit matter [1 p.4]. Advances, deposits and prepayments were Tk 13,650m, 34.6% of revenue [19]: Tk 4,110m against L/C margin, Tk 2,934m against LCs, Tk 3,602m against other supply, Tk 1,283m of advance income tax and Tk 1,457m 'against land', unchanged for two years [1 p.29]. The directors consider all of them recoverable without provision [1 p.30].

Receivables were Tk 9,146m from 1,760 parties, 99% due within six months [1 p.30]; receivable days rose from 56 to 85 as revenue fell [19]. Revaluation. Land, plant and machinery and gas lines of the QEAF project were revalued by G. Kibria & Co. in June 2023 [1 p.18], adding Tk 14.8bn before deferred tax in FY2023 [2 p.10]. The revaluation reserve is Tk 13,988m, 55.8% of equity, above the F15 red-flag level of 40% [19]. Net asset value per share of Tk 51.81 falls to about Tk 22.90 without it [1 p.42] [19].

Cash conversion. Operating cash flow was Tk 7,611m in FY2026 against Tk 2,798m in FY2025 and Tk 4,786m in FY2024 [1 p.12] [2 p.12]. The FY2026 rise came from lower payments to suppliers (Tk 31.9bn against Tk 52.7bn) as purchases were cut, not from profit [1 p.12]. After Tk 7,741m of capex paid, free cash flow was about zero (-Tk 130m), and interest paid of Tk 5,530m was funded by Tk 12,254m of new long-term loans [1 p.12] [19]. In FY2020, during construction, operating cash flow was negative Tk 3,064m [4 p.9].

Capital work-in-progress rose from Tk 5,784m to Tk 9,478m after Tk 4,021m of spending in FY2026, with only Tk 327m capitalised [1 p.27]. The note does not say what is being built, and note 42.03 says there is no capital expenditure commitment [1 p.47]. This is the largest open question in the accounts we read: whether new capacity or balancing equipment is coming, and when it will be put to use.

Related parties: a Tk 683m interest-bearing loan to Arbee Textiles and Tk 723m owed to the group power company

Board. GPH's own filing lists Md. Alamgir Kabir as Chairman and Mohammed Jahangir Alam as Managing Director, with directors Mohammed Almas Shimul, Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman, Md. Abdul Ahad and Md. Azizul Haque and two independent directors, Rezina Parveen and Safiul Alam Khan Chowdhury; six board meetings were held in FY2026 [1 p.46]. Three of them also sit on the board of Crown Cement PLC: Mohammed Jahangir Alam (chairman), Md. Alamgir Kabir and Mohammed Almas Shimul; Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman and Md. Abdul Ahad are Crown shareholders [13 p.207]. Press descriptions differ: The Daily Star of 11-Oct-2026 calls Mr Alam 'chairman of GPH Group and managing director of GPH Ispat' [15], which matches the filing, while The Business Standard of 12-Mar-2026 called him 'GPH Ispat chairman' [16], which does not; we rely on the filing. He is also president of the steel makers' association, BSMA [14].

Related-party balances. Note 38 lists ten related parties, all by common directorship except GPH Steels (a 10% investee that has not started operating) [1 p.46] [1 p.27]. The large items are: GPH Power Generation Ltd, which supplies power at a flat rate and was owed Tk 723m (Tk 723m a year earlier); Arbee Textiles Ltd, which owes Tk 683m (Tk 617m) on an interest-bearing loan charged at 10% a year, an amount larger than FY2026 net profit by 19 times; and ECO Ceramics Industries Ltd, with an advance of Tk 165m (Tk 146m) [1 p.46] [1 p.30]. Smaller items are head-office rent to Jahangir and Other Ltd, an L/C insurance policy with Asia Insurance and advances to GPH Ship Builders, LIPD Industries and ECO Process Industry [1 p.46]. A further Tk 63.5m sits in Star Allied Venture Ltd for a proposed tyre factory that 'remains suspended' [1 p.27]. The note does not disclose transaction volumes for the year, only closing balances [1 p.46].

Within the GPH/Crown group. Crown Cement's FY2025 annual report records MS rod bought from GPH Ispat of Tk 7.3m (Tk 121.1m a year earlier), under the label 'Common Director' [13 p.207]; GPH's own note 38 does not list Crown [1 p.46]. Group companies also stand behind GPH's loans: Jahangir & Others Ltd and GPH Power Generation give corporate guarantees on the term, syndicated and ECA loans [1 p.34] [1 p.35].

Ownership. Sponsors and directors held 30.22% at June, August and September 2026, institutions 18.9-19.3% and the general public about 50.5-50.9% [9]. That level is the result of gifts: Mr Alam gifted 25.0m shares to his children in January 2025 and 35.0m to his wife and children in April 2026, and Mr Shimul 20.0m to his children in February 2026, all to recipients registered as general shareholders [8]. The FY2025 dividend notice counted 201,247,351 sponsor/director shares and the FY2026 notice 146,247,351, a drop of exactly 55.0m [8]. The shares stayed within the directors' families; DSE does not publish a combined family holding [9]. Key-management pay was Tk 163m in FY2026; directors' remuneration was Tk 24.8m, of which Tk 11.0m to the managing director [1 p.46].

Dividends: stock dividends in five of eight years, and cash for general shareholders only since FY2025

GPH paid a mix of cash and stock for most of its listed life. DSE's record shows cash of 5% and stock of 5% for FY2019 and FY2020, 20% cash and 10% stock for FY2021, 5.5% and 5.5% for FY2022, 5% and 5% for FY2023, 10% cash for FY2024, then 5% (FY2025) and 2% (FY2026) cash for general shareholders only [9] [8]. Stock dividends took the share count from 327.4m in July 2018 to 483.9m by December 2023 [4 p.8] [1 p.32]. The FY2025 cash dividend paid Tk 141.3m to general shareholders and the FY2026 one will pay Tk 67.5m [8]. After the FY2025 dividend was approved DSE moved the shares from category A to B from 4-Jan-2026 [8].

Bonus shares matter for per-share history: printed EPS was Tk 4.18 in FY2021, but on today's 483.9m shares the same profit is Tk 3.43 [19]. Cash paid out was about 22-86% of profit in the profitable years FY2019-FY2024 when computed on all shares [19]; for FY2025 and FY2026 the sponsors waived, so the cash paid (Tk 141m and Tk 68m) was funded in years of a loss and a Tk 35m profit [8] [1 p.10]. Under the income tax law, listed companies that pay out less than a set share of profit pay extra tax; the FY2020 accounts show a 'minimum amount to be distributed as dividend' of Tk 90m booked under that rule [4 p.7].

Peers: BSRM's two listed companies ran their melt shops above nameplate with a fraction of GPH's interest burden

We compare GPH with the two listed BSRM companies on their FY2026 audited statements, quoting each line as labelled [1 p.9] [1 p.10] [11 p.8] [11 p.9] [12 p.7] [12 p.8]. BSRM Ltd's separate statements are used (its 'Revenue' includes billet sold to BSRM Steels, and its net profit includes Tk 2,240m of share of profit of subsidiary and associate) [11 p.9]. Labels differ: GPH reports 'Profit from operating activities' before finance income; BSRM's 'Operating profit' is after foreign-exchange differences and other operating income; GPH's 'Finance Cost' includes its FX line, while both BSRM companies show FX on borrowings separately (a Tk 110m gain at BSRM Ltd and a Tk 49m loss at BSRM Steels) [1 p.10] [11 p.9] [12 p.8]. Other listed steel names (SSSTEEL, RSRMSTEEL, APOLOISPAT) are distressed or not operating and are left out.

What the table shows. GPH has the highest gross margin of the three (17.9% against 9.2% and 10.9%) [19]. The difference is partly structure: GPH melts and rolls its own billet, while BSRM Ltd's revenue includes billet sold to BSRM Steels at a melting-shop margin, and the three companies classify costs differently; we do not read it as a cost advantage without sales-tonne data. Everything below gross profit favours BSRM. GPH's finance cost took 93.6% of operating profit against 12.9% at BSRM Ltd and 21.4% at BSRM Steels, and its borrowings were 3.0 times equity against 0.65x and 1.15x [19]. BSRM Ltd ran its billet shop at 100.4% of 1,300 kt and its rolling mill at 96.7% of 800 kt [11 p.64]; BSRM Steels rolled 1,598,516 tonnes on 1,400,000 tonnes of capacity and melted 1,076,261 tonnes on 1,000,000 [12 p.59]. GPH used 47.5% and 61.4% [1 p.45]. In a market that the industry says needs less than half its capacity [14], the larger brand kept its volume and GPH lost a quarter of its own.

Returns: ROE fell from 18% in FY2021 to 0.1% in FY2026; the shares trade at 0.30 times book

Return on equity was 18.2% in FY2021 and 12.2% in FY2022, then 1.4%, 3.4%, -1.0% and 0.1% [19]. Excluding the revaluation reserve the figures are higher (23.1% in FY2021, 9.0% in FY2024) but the direction is the same [19]. Asset turnover halved from 0.72x in FY2022 to 0.36x in FY2026 as the asset base (Tk 108bn) kept growing and revenue fell [19]. The return on the expansion therefore depends on filling the plant: at FY2022-FY2023 utilisation the company earned Tk 4.9-6.5bn of operating profit, which would still be close to today's interest bill [4 p.6] [4 p.7] [3 p.10] [3 p.11] [2 p.9] [2 p.10] [1 p.9] [1 p.10].

Multiples as facts. At Tk 15.3 the market value is Tk 7.4bn on 483.9m shares [10] [9]. That is 0.30 times June 2026 NAV of Tk 51.81 and about 0.67 times NAV excluding the revaluation reserve; trailing P/E on EPS of Tk 0.07 is above 200x, as DSE's own table shows [9]. Including Tk 71.4bn of net debt, enterprise value is about Tk 78.8bn, 9.8 times FY2026 EBITDA [19]. The 2% cash dividend is Tk 0.20 a share for general shareholders, 1.3% of the price. Over the last 52 weeks the share traded between Tk 14.6 and Tk 20.7, and average daily turnover over the last 20 sessions was about 0.5m shares (about Tk 8m) [10].

What will move the lines next: volume, the rights issue, rates and the taka

Volume. The biggest single lever is tonnage. Rod output of 484,757 tonnes used 61% of rod capacity [1 p.45]; each 100,000 tonnes at FY2026's gross profit per tonne is about Tk 1.45bn [19]. Public works are the swing demand: The Daily Star reported on 11-Oct-2026 that ECNEC had approved 12 projects of Tk 1,68,780 crore, including the southern route of MRT Line-5, and quoted Mr Alam saying 'Large infrastructure projects could boost demand for steel, cement, glass, cables and electrical equipment' [15]. Such approvals reach steel orders with a lag.

Costs and rates. The June 2026 power tariff rise of 17.86% [14] falls on an electricity bill of Tk 4,166m [1 p.40]; on FY2026 volumes, each 10% on that bill is about Tk 417m [19]. Interest is the second lever: each 1 percentage point on Tk 75.2bn of borrowings is about Tk 752m a year, twenty times FY2026 profit [19]. The company's note 45.03(d) classes all borrowings as fixed-rate [1 p.50], but short-term lines reprice every 3-6 months [1 p.36] and the ECA loan is priced off SOFR [1 p.35], so we apply the 1pp to the whole book as an illustration. The rights issue, if revived and approved by BSEC, would raise Tk 9,678m for loan repayment [8]; at FY2026's implied rate of about 7.3% that is roughly Tk 0.7bn of annual interest, against a share count that would triple. The taka. Each Tk 1 per dollar on US$151.7m of net liabilities is about Tk 152m [19] [1 p.49].

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]. GPH sells almost entirely at home (rod exports were Tk 81m in FY2026) [1 p.39], so the direct effect is small; any change in import protection on finished steel or in tax incentives linked to graduation now comes three years later than planned.

Risks: volume and interest matter most; the taka and power come next

GPH's position is simple to state. A large, modern plant produces a steady gross margin; a debt load built for that plant, at a time when the taka fell and rates rose, takes almost all of the operating profit; and demand in FY2026 was too weak to fill the plant [1 p.10] [1 p.45] [15]. The equity has absorbed this so far without losses large enough to cut net asset value, because revaluation added Tk 14.8bn (before deferred tax) in FY2023 [2 p.10] and the company stayed close to break-even. The emphasis of matter on unconfirmed third-party balances [1 p.2], the size of advances and inventory, and the gifts that brought sponsor holdings to the floor are the points a reader should keep in view.

• Q1 FY2027 net revenue and gross margin (by 11-Dec-2026 on last year's timing) against Tk 7.3bn and 25.8% in Q4 FY2026.
• Any new board decision on the deferred 2R:1 rights issue and BSEC's response.
• Borrowings and accepted bills at each quarter-end against Tk 75.2bn and US$81.5m at June 2026.
• The taka/US dollar rate against Tk 122.85 used at June 2026.
• Capital work-in-progress of Tk 9,478m: what it is and when it is capitalised.
• DSE shareholding pattern each month for the sponsor/director holding against the 30% floor.

FAQ

When does GPH Ispat's financial year end?

On 30 June. FY2026 ran from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, as both the audited statements and DSE's company page show.

Who runs GPH Ispat?

Its FY2026 filing lists Md. Alamgir Kabir as Chairman and Mohammed Jahangir Alam as Managing Director. Both are also on the board of Crown Cement, where Mr Alam is chairman.

How much did GPH Ispat earn in FY2026?

Profit after tax was Tk 35m (EPS Tk 0.07) on net revenue of Tk 39,401m, after a loss of Tk 246m in FY2025. Finance cost was Tk 5,508m.

How much debt does GPH Ispat have?

Borrowings were Tk 75,208m at 30-Jun-2026: Tk 47,182m of long-term loans and Tk 28,026m of short-term borrowings, about a quarter of it in US dollars.

What is the status of the rights issue?

The board proposed a 2-for-1 rights issue at Tk 10 in September 2026 to raise Tk 9,678m for loan repayment; it was put on hold by the board on 24-Oct-2026 and deferred by the 25-Oct-2026 AGM.

Sources

1. GPH Ispat Limited, Auditor's Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 30-Jun-2026 (corpus GPHISPAT_ANNUAL_2026, PDF page numbers) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
2. GPH Ispat Limited, audited financial statements for the year ended 30-Jun-2024 (with FY2023 comparatives) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
3. GPH Ispat Limited, audited financial statements for the year ended 30-Jun-2022 (with FY2021 comparatives) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
4. GPH Ispat Limited, audited financial statements for the year ended 30-Jun-2020 (with FY2019 comparatives) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
5. GPH Ispat Limited, un-audited financial statements for the nine months to 31-Mar-2026 (Q3 FY2026) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
6. GPH Ispat price-sensitive information, 5-Sep-2020 (expansion plant trial production) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
7. GPH Ispat price-sensitive information, 20-Jun-2021 (commercial production of the expansion plant from 21-Jun-2021) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
8. DSE announcements for GPHISPAT, Nov-2024 to Oct-2026 (results, dividends, rights proposal and deferral, preference-share and rights refusals by BSEC, share gifts, credit ratings, category change) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
9. DSE company page for GPHISPAT: dividend history, shareholding pattern, year end, quarterly EPS, AGM date · link · accessed 2026-10-31
10. AnalystBro market data: DSE daily bars for GPHISPAT to 29-Oct-2026 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
11. Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills Limited (BSRMLTD), audited financial statements for the year ended 30-Jun-2026 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
12. BSRM Steels Limited (BSRMSTEEL), audited financial statements for the year ended 30-Jun-2026 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
13. Crown Cement PLC Annual Report 2024-2025 (related-party note 41) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
14. The Daily Star, 'Steelmakers squeezed by higher costs, weak demand', 3 Sep 2026 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
15. The Daily Star, 'Steelmakers pin hopes on revival of govt projects', 11 Oct 2026 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
16. The Business Standard, 'Rod prices jump Tk10,000 per tonne in 10 days, cement up Tk25 per bag', 12 Mar 2026 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
17. The Daily Star, 'Bangladesh gets 3 more years for LDC graduation', 30 Oct 2026 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
18. The Business Standard, 'Bangladesh gets 3 more years for LDC graduation', 30 Oct 2026 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
19. AnalystBro history and ratio model for GPHISPAT (model.xlsx, the workbook below) · link · accessed 2026-10-31