GQ Ball Pen financial analysis: 10% capacity use, losses in 7 of 9 years, assets in property and bank shares (Oct 2026)

Investment considerations: a pen maker at 10% capacity whose assets are property and bank shares

GQ Ball Pen Industries Limited (GQBPIL) was incorporated in 1981 and makes ball-point pens at a factory in the BSCIC industrial estate in Jashore, plus disposable plastic spoons, glasses and combs at a plastic unit in Ashulia, Savar [1 p.77]. The pen business has shrunk to a fraction of its old size. Sales were Tk 18.5m in FY2025 (year to June), against Tk 54.3m in FY2024 and Tk 107.4m in FY2017 [1 p.27] [5 p.11]. The company says it used 10% of its yearly pen capacity, because of 'increased market competition' [1 p.77], and that in FY2025 it 'operated on a very limited scale', selling only to selected institutional buyers [1 p.26].

What the balance sheet holds is mostly not the pen business. At 31-Mar-2026 total assets were Tk 1,700m. Non-current investments of Tk 772m (land, a commercial space in a 14-storey building at Uttara, unlisted shares and a fixed deposit) and listed shares of Tk 329m made up 65% of assets; inventories were Tk 6.0m and trade receivables Tk 4.5m [2 p.1] [17]. Equity of Tk 1,253m includes a revaluation surplus of Tk 712m and a fair-value (AFS) reserve of Tk 183m [2 p.1]. So the reader is looking at a small loss-making manufacturer attached to a property and a bank-share portfolio.

Business: 30-year-old machines, a shift to refill pens, and a BMRE that is not yet financed

GQBPIL is one of the older listed manufacturers in Bangladesh. The 2024-25 report is its 43rd annual report [1 p.26]. It owns two industrial units: the ball pen factory at Jhumjhumpur, Jashore, and a plastic unit at Khagan, Ashulia [1 p.77]. Products go to stationery shops through distributor points and to institutions through the company's own sales staff [1 p.26]. At June 2025 it had 38 officers including marketing and distribution staff and 42 staff and workers, plus casual and contract workers [1 p.77].

Management gives two reasons for the decline. First, the factory machinery is 'more than 30 years old' and needs major upgrading. Second, buyers moved from traditional direct-fill pens to 'more modern and fancier refill-type pens' [1 p.26]. Shareholders at the 41st AGM approved a BMRE (balancing, modernisation, replacement and expansion) programme to make refill-style pens, and the company 'partially suspended' factory operations to renovate buildings and source machines [1 p.26]. The FY2024 report already cited 'partial operations due to BMRE' when recommending the dividend [3 p.31]. The BMRE is not yet funded: the company is 'pursuing banks to arrange the necessary financing' and may 'seek strategic partnerships' if bank finance is not available [1 p.26].

The market has also changed. The directors describe the pen industry as 'highly competitive, with large conglomerates entering the market in recent years', using price cuts, free offers and frequent launches [1 p.26]. GQ's own sales history shows the result: Tk 107.4m in FY2017, Tk 73-79m in FY2018-FY2020, a Covid low of Tk 46.0m in FY2021, a rebound to about Tk 70m in FY2022-FY2023, then Tk 54.3m and Tk 18.5m [5 p.11] [1 p.27]. The FY2025 fall of 66% is mostly the BMRE suspension.

Alongside the factories, the company built a property business. It held leasehold land and, from FY2025, commercial space in a 14-storey building at Uttara, which was 'completed and handed over in September 2024' [1 p.26]. The space was revalued to Tk 686.7m at 31-Dec-2024 [1 p.82], and the company classifies it as investment property [1 p.91]. It also holds Tk 101.6m (cost) of listed shares, almost all banks, built up over many years [1 p.94]. The 'story' of the decade is therefore a manufacturing business shrinking while the balance sheet shifted to property and bank shares.

Line items: sales down 66% in FY2025, fixed factory costs 114% of sales

Sales. In FY2025 ball pens sold Tk 14.8m and the plastic division Tk 3.7m [1 p.102]. Ball pen sales fell 70% and plastic sales 29% [17]. The plastic unit produced 5.6m pieces of spoons, glasses and combs [1 p.77], which implies about Tk 0.66 of sales per piece. The report gives no pen volumes. The drivers are volume (factory utilisation, institutional orders) and product mix; pricing power is weak against larger competitors [1 p.26]. Sales in 9M FY2026 were Tk 15.5m, up 2.4% on Tk 15.1m [2 p.1], so the low base has held but has not recovered.

Cost of sales. The cost structure is dominated by fixed costs that do not shrink with sales. In FY2025 raw and packing materials fell to Tk 10.5m from Tk 44.3m, in line with volume, but factory wages (Tk 6.4m), power (Tk 2.8m), overheads (Tk 2.3m) and depreciation (Tk 9.7m) together came to 114% of sales, against 58% in FY2024 [1 p.102] [17]. The company's own note says 'only 10% of our total production capacity is being utilized, while the fixed expenses remain unchanged' [1 p.102]. That is why the gross margin went from -38.8% to -77.7%. In FY2025 sales fell by Tk 35.8m yet the gross loss narrowed by Tk 6.7m, because materials fell with volume and depreciation dropped by Tk 3.4m; the margin still worsened because the fixed block did not shrink in proportion.

Operating expenses. Administrative, financial and marketing expenses fell to Tk 17.8m from Tk 27.0m [1 p.74], and from Tk 48.6m in FY2017 [5 p.11]. Even so they were 96% of FY2025 sales. In 9M FY2026 they rose 8.5% to Tk 13.5m [2 p.1]. The operating loss has been between Tk 29.6m and Tk 56.2m in every year since FY2017 [17].

Other income. This is the line that keeps the loss small. It was Tk 23.5m in FY2025: Tk 18.4m of cash dividends, Tk 4.4m of rent, Tk 1.2m of interest and a Tk 0.3m trading gain, less Tk 1.2m of fire and disposal losses [1 p.106]. In FY2020 and FY2021 the line was negative because it included losses such as the Tk 47.7m dead-stock write-off [5 p.11]. It moves with bank dividends (Prime Bank's payout above all), occupancy of the Uttara building, and deposit rates. In 9M FY2026 it was Tk 9.9m against Tk 5.3m [2 p.1].

Tax. GQBPIL pays tax while making losses. The FY2025 current tax of Tk 5.2m was the sum of 20% on dividends (Tk 3.7m), 20% on net rent (Tk 0.6m), 15% on share gains and the minimum tax on sales receipts [1 p.107]; the report notes 'despite incurring loss, we have made the above income tax provision' [1 p.107]. With deferred tax of Tk 2.5m, tax turned a pre-tax loss of Tk 8.6m into an after-tax loss of Tk 16.3m [1 p.74].

Portfolio and property: Prime Bank dividends and Uttara rent pay for 73% of the factory's loss

Because the factory loses money, shareholder returns depend on two non-manufacturing assets. The first is a listed-share portfolio with a cost of Tk 101.6m and a market value of Tk 241.0m at June 2025 [1 p.94]. It holds 25 names, mostly banks, but one dominates: 9,048,535 Prime Bank shares bought for Tk 48.9m with a market value of Tk 206.3m at June 2025 [1 p.94]. Prime Bank paid GQ Tk 15.8m of dividends in both FY2024 and FY2025 [1 p.106]. The rest of the portfolio includes small holdings in weaker banks such as National Bank (cost Tk 14.3m, value Tk 4.2m) and Exim Bank (cost Tk 7.0m, value Tk 3.2m) [1 p.94].

The portfolio's market value is booked in equity, not profit. Unrealised gains go to the AFS reserve, which rose from Tk 125.5m at June 2025 to Tk 183.2m at March 2026 after a Tk 67.9m unrealised gain [2 p.1]. Listed short-term investment rose to Tk 329.0m [2 p.1]. So the FY2026 NAV gain to Tk 140.38 came from share prices, while the income statement showed a loss [2 p.1].

The second asset is property. Non-current 'Investment' of Tk 772.0m at June 2025 comprised freehold land of Tk 43.9m, leasehold land and the Uttara commercial space of Tk 685.7m, unlisted shares at Tk 21.7m net and a Tk 20.7m fixed deposit at Southeast Bank [1 p.91] [1 p.92]. The commercial space was revalued by Muhammad Shaheedullah & Co. at 31-Dec-2024 to Tk 686.7m, a Tk 269.3m surplus; land gained Tk 41.5m, plant Tk 11.4m and buildings lost Tk 58.5m, for a net Tk 263.8m [1 p.82]. Rental income in FY2025 was Tk 4.4m [1 p.106], a gross yield of about 0.6% on the revalued space, because most floors were not yet let. The directors plan 'to rent the remaining portions of the building in the coming year as the economy improves' [1 p.26].

Unlisted investments have been written down. GQ holds shares in six private companies at a gross cost of Tk 95.6m, including Tk 59.5m in GQ Plastic Ltd and Tk 11.5m in Cello-GQ Industries; it provided Tk 73.9m against them after finding 'some of the invested companies are not in operation from a long time' [1 p.92]. The FY2025 provision of Tk 59.5m went through other comprehensive income, not profit [1 p.74]. What is left, Maladesh International at Tk 21.7m, is the subject of an emphasis of matter because no audited accounts were available [1 p.27].

Ratios: negative operating margin every year since FY2017; ROE -1.5% in FY2025

The ratio history is short on good years. Sales declined at a compound 19.7% a year from FY2017 to FY2025 [17]. The gross margin was positive but thin in FY2017-FY2019 (7.4%, 2.6%, 3.0%) and negative from FY2020 (-9.5%) to FY2025 (-77.7%) [17]. The operating margin has been negative in every year, from -37.9% in FY2017 to -174.0% in FY2025 [17].

Returns on equity are close to zero or negative. ROE on average equity was 1.2% in FY2019, the only positive year in the series we can compute, and -1.5% in FY2025 [17]. The equity base is large relative to the business because it carries revalued property and fair-value gains, so even a break-even factory would give a low ROE. Return on capital in the factory itself is negative: the operating loss of Tk 32.2m compares with Tk 341.4m of property, plant and equipment [1 p.73] [1 p.74].

Efficiency ratios are distorted by the low volume. Inventories of Tk 7.9m at June 2025 were 87 days of cost of sales; trade receivables of Tk 3.3m were 64 days of sales, and Tk 1.3m of them were more than six months old [1 p.92]. Leverage is not the problem: borrowings and leases were Tk 14.9m at June 2025 [1 p.73]. Payout is the odd ratio. Dividends go only to general shareholders and have been paid in loss years, which the dividend policy allows out of undistributed profits [1 p.34].

Earnings quality: a Tk 16m loss but Tk 195m of comprehensive income in FY2025

Reported profit understates the economic swings because large items bypass the income statement. In FY2025 the loss after tax was Tk 16.3m, but total comprehensive income was a gain of Tk 195.1m: the Tk 263.8m revaluation and a Tk 7.2m unrealised share gain, less a Tk 59.5m investment provision [1 p.74]. In 9M FY2026 the loss was Tk 12.0m and comprehensive income Tk 45.7m [2 p.1]. An investor reading EPS alone misses the property and portfolio swings; an investor reading NAV alone misses the cash cost of the factory.

Cash flow tells the same story. Operating cash flow was minus Tk 29.4m in FY2024 and minus Tk 2.8m in FY2025 [1 p.76]. The company classifies other income received (Tk 17.1m in FY2025) under investing activities, so operating cash flow shows the factory before dividends and rent [1 p.76]. Capex was Tk 12.8m in FY2025, against an auditor-reported addition of Tk 13.2m to property, plant and equipment [1 p.67]. Cash at June 2025 was Tk 1.8m [1 p.73]; the auditor notes TDS of Tk 1.3m and VAT of Tk 0.7m deducted from suppliers but not deposited, which the board attributes to 'insufficient funds' [1 p.28].

There is a tax asset that does not turn into cash quickly. Advance income tax was Tk 218.2m at March 2026 against a provision of Tk 193.0m [2 p.1]: years of withholding tax on dividends and turnover sitting on the balance sheet awaiting assessment. It is 12.8% of total assets [17].

Put together, the three statements describe two different businesses inside one company. The factory consumes cash: its operating loss was Tk 32.2m in FY2025 and Tk 48.1m in FY2024, before any income from the portfolio or the building [1 p.74]. The investment side produces cash income but most of its value change is unrealised: Tk 18.4m of dividends and Tk 4.4m of rent were received in FY2025, while the revaluation and share-price moves that lifted NAV did not pass through cash at all [1 p.106] [1 p.74]. For a shareholder the useful test each period is therefore simple: does cash other income, less tax on it, exceed the factory's cash loss plus the dividend paid? In FY2025 it did not quite: other income received of Tk 17.1m set against operating cash flow of minus Tk 2.8m, capex of Tk 12.8m and dividends paid of Tk 1.4m left cash up by only Tk 1.0m [1 p.76]. The 9M FY2026 figures, with positive operating cash flow of Tk 6.0m, are the first sign of that balance improving [2 p.1].

Balance sheet: 71% of equity is reserves; three emphasis-of-matter paragraphs

Equity was Tk 1,253.3m at 31-Mar-2026: share capital Tk 89.3m, share premium Tk 123.2m, revaluation surplus Tk 711.5m, AFS reserve Tk 183.2m and retained earnings Tk 146.1m [2 p.1]. Retained earnings have fallen from Tk 398.4m in FY2017 to Tk 161.8m in FY2025 [5 p.11] [1 p.27]. Excluding the revaluation surplus and AFS reserve, NAV would be Tk 40.16 a share, against Tk 49.82 at June 2024 [17]. Deferred tax liabilities of Tk 197.6m, mostly on the revaluation, sit against the reserve [2 p.1].

The auditor, Basu Banerjee Nath & Co., gave an unmodified opinion on FY2025 with three emphasis-of-matter paragraphs (the unlisted Maladesh investment, unpaid TDS/VAT, and the IAS 40 treatment) [1 p.27] [1 p.28] [1 p.67]. On the third point, the company accepts that it 'departs from the standard recognition and measurement provisions of IAS 40': it calls the Uttara asset investment property but books fair-value gains in equity and depreciates it, to avoid unrealised gains in EPS [1 p.28] [1 p.91]. Earlier years carried qualified opinions: FY2021's auditor qualified on a dividend-payable restatement and on dead stock carried at cost [5 p.11]. The audit fee was Tk 0.2m [1 p.28].

Related parties: a shed at the Khagan factory is sub-leased to GQ Industries Ltd, a sister concern, from January 2022 to December 2026, and the receivable is netted against the current account with that company [1 p.93]. The credit rating disclosed is BBB- long term and ST-4 short term from CRISL [1 p.33].

Governance: a family-controlled board, dividends paid in loss years to general shareholders only

The company is controlled by the Huq family. At June 2025 the chairperson Mrs. Salma Huq held 851,393 shares, director Mr. Qazi Saleemul Huq 2,344,338 (26.3%, the only holder above 10%), and directors Mr. Qazi M. Salman Sarwar, Ms. Sara Huq and Mrs. Sana Huq the rest of the 3,883,037 sponsor and director shares, 43.5% of 8,928,091 [1 p.61] [1 p.33]. General shareholders hold 5,045,054 shares, 56.5% [1 p.33]. The audit committee and the nomination and remuneration committee are chaired by independent director Mr. Shafi Uddin Ahmed, FCA [1 p.31].

Dividends are paid only to general shareholders; directors and sponsors waive theirs. The board recommended 5% for FY2021, 2.5% for FY2023, 3% for FY2024 and 10% for FY2025, each to general shareholders only [5 p.96] [4 p.31] [3 p.43] [1 p.33]. For FY2026 the board met on 08-Oct-2026 and declared 12.5% cash, with record date 04-Nov-2026 and the AGM on 30-Nov-2026 [13]. The DSE notice does not say whether sponsors waive again; if they do, the cash cost is about Tk 6.3m (5.05m shares x Tk 1.25), against the Tk 5.0m paid in 9M FY2026 [2 p.1]. The dividend policy permits payment from undistributed profits in loss years [1 p.34]. Unclaimed bonus shares from 1986-2018 (113,034 shares) went to the Capital Market Stabilization Fund in May 2022 [1 p.33].

Trading: the stock was in the DSE spot market from 18-Nov-2025 around the FY2025 record date [13]. The share price has ranged from Tk 385 to Tk 728 in the past year [16]. These are price facts, given without a view on them.

Peers: listed plastics companies earn 17-38% gross margins; GQ earned minus 45%

There is no other listed pen maker on the DSE, so the nearest peers are small plastics companies in the same sector group: Bengal Windsor Thermoplastics (moulded plastics) and Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries (PP bags). The comparison uses each company's own 9M FY2026 statements (July 2025 to March 2026) on the same basis [2 p.1] [11 p.3] [12 p.2].

Both peers sell at a gross profit: Bengal Windsor 17.4% on Tk 787.9m of sales, Khan Brothers 38.5% on Tk 213.6m, against GQ's -45.0% on Tk 15.5m [17]. Price to NAV at the 29-Oct-2026 close was 4.21x for GQ, 0.79x for Bengal Windsor and 2.67x for Khan Brothers [16] [17]. These multiples are stated as facts; the peers' NAVs are not built on the same mix of property and listed shares.

What's next: dividend record date 04-Nov-2026, AGM 30-Nov-2026, Q1 FY2027 statements in November

What is already disclosed and dated, with the line each item moves (direction only, no forecast):

Passed events with outcomes not yet in a filing: the FY2026 board meeting of 08-Oct-2026 (passed; only the dividend is known from DSE, the FY2026 annual statements are not yet in our corpus) [13]; and the BMRE financing the directors described in November 2025 (passed, outcome unknown) [1 p.26].

Risks: pen volume, BMRE funding, Prime Bank and the Uttara occupancy rate

The risks below are tied to the line each one moves, using the filings' own numbers.

The two largest sensitivities are measurable from history. In FY2025 a 10% move in Prime Bank's share price moved the portfolio by about Tk 20.6m, or Tk 2.31 of NAV per share [1 p.94] [17]; and a 10% change in Prime Bank's cash dividend moved other income by Tk 1.6m, about Tk 0.18 of EPS [1 p.106]. The factory's sensitivity runs the other way: with fixed factory costs of about Tk 21m a year [1 p.102], lost volume lands almost entirely in the gross loss.

Key questions: BMRE financing, Uttara occupancy and the Prime Bank dividend

At Tk 591.4, GQBALLPEN trades at 4.21x March 2026 NAV of Tk 140.38 [16] [2 p.1]; trailing EPS is negative, so a P/E does not apply. At June 2024 NAV was Tk 113.57 and at June 2018 Tk 149.61 [1 p.73] [6 p.35]. The FY2026 dividend of Tk 1.25 is 0.21% of the price [13]. These are facts about the price, not a view on it.

FAQ

What does GQ Ball Pen Industries make?

Ball-point pens at a factory in Jashore and disposable plastic spoons, glasses and combs at a unit in Ashulia [1 p.77].

Why are GQ Ball Pen's sales so low?

The company cites 30-year-old machines, a shift in demand to refill pens and stronger competitors; it partly suspended the factory for a BMRE and used 10% of capacity in FY2025 [1 p.26] [1 p.77].

How does GQ Ball Pen pay dividends while making losses?

Dividends go only to general shareholders, and the policy allows payment from undistributed profits; dividend income from bank shares and rent cover much of the cost [1 p.33] [1 p.34] [1 p.106].

What is GQ Ball Pen's dividend for FY2026?

12.5% cash (Tk 1.25 a share), record date 04-Nov-2026, AGM 30-Nov-2026 [13].

What is the Uttara building?

Commercial space in a 14-storey building handed over in September 2024, revalued to Tk 686.7m at December 2024 and partly let [1 p.26] [1 p.82].

Who controls GQ Ball Pen?

The Huq family directors hold 43.5%; Mr. Qazi Saleemul Huq alone holds 26.3% [1 p.61] [1 p.33].

Which results does this report use?

Annual reports FY2017-FY2025 and the un-audited 9M FY2026 statements. The FY2026 annual report was not yet in our corpus; only the dividend declared on DSE is used for FY2026.

Sources

1. GQ Ball Pen Industries Ltd, Annual Report 2024-2025 (year to 30-Jun-2025) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
2. GQ Ball Pen Industries Ltd, un-audited third-quarter statements to 31-Mar-2026 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
3. GQ Ball Pen Industries Ltd, Annual Report 2023-2024 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
4. GQ Ball Pen Industries Ltd, Annual Report 2022-2023 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
5. GQ Ball Pen Industries Ltd, Annual Report 2020-2021 (five-year table FY2017-FY2021) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
6. GQ Ball Pen Industries Ltd, Annual Report 2018-2019 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
7. GQ Ball Pen Industries Ltd, first-quarter statements to 30-Sep-2020 (Jun-2020 balance sheet) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
8. GQ Ball Pen Industries Ltd, first-quarter statements to 30-Sep-2021 (Jun-2021 balance sheet) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
9. GQ Ball Pen Industries Ltd, half-year statements to 31-Dec-2022 (Jun-2022 balance sheet) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
10. GQ Ball Pen Industries Ltd, first-quarter statements to 30-Sep-2023 (Jun-2023 balance sheet) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
11. Bengal Windsor Thermoplastics PLC, un-audited statements to 31-Mar-2026 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
12. Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries Ltd, un-audited statements to 31-Mar-2026 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
13. DSE announcements for GQBALLPEN: board meeting 08-Oct-2026, 12.5% cash dividend for FY2026, record date 04-Nov-2026, AGM 30-Nov-2026, Q1 board meeting 01-Nov-2026 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
14. The Daily Star, 'Bangladesh gets 3 more years for LDC graduation' (30-Oct-2026) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
15. The Business Standard, 'Bangladesh gets 3 more years for LDC graduation' (30-Oct-2026) · link · accessed 2026-10-31
16. AnalystBro price data (TradingView feed): DSE:GQBALLPEN, DSE:BENGALWTL, DSE:KBPPWBIL daily bars to 29-Oct-2026 · link · accessed 2026-10-31
17. AnalystBro model for this report (workbook tabs below) · link · accessed 2026-10-31