Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited (“BPL” or “Company"; AIM Symbol: BXP) today announces that all resolutions put before shareholders at the Company’s Annual General Meeting held on June 21st 2014 were duly passed.
The resolutions passed at the AGM included the approval of a 10% cash dividend and a 5% stock dividend. The cash dividend being 10% of the nominal value per ordinary share of Tk.10 (Tk.1 per ordinary share/per global depository receipt (“GDR”) held in respect of GDR holders) will be paid to holders of ordinary shares/GDRs (who were on the register of shareholders/GDR holders as on the date of record) within 30 days from the date of approval i.e on or before July 21st 2014. The cash dividend will be paid after deduction of taxes as per Bangladesh Tax law. Note that the record date for GDR holders was 16th May 2014.
It is intended that the new ordinary shares/GDRs arising from the 5% stock dividend i.e. 5 ordinary shares/GDRs per 100 ordinary shares/GDRs (in respect of GDR holders) held, will be credited to shareholders/GDR holders accounts on or before July 21st 2014.
Application will be made for admission of the new GDRs arising from the stock dividend (“New GDRs”) to be admitted to trading on AIM (“Admission”). Admission is expected to take place shortly after the New GDRs are credited to the respective accounts and a further announcement will be made in due course with the expected date of Admission.
Following issuance of the stock dividend, the total issued share capital of the Company will be 367,851,652 ordinary shares of Taka 10 (“Ordinary Shares”), of which 82,488,552 will be represented by GDRs. The new Ordinary Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing issued Ordinary Shares, all having voting rights.
The Annual Report for 2013 is available from the Company’s website, which includes the audited accounts that were previously sent to shareholders and a review of operations for the year to 31 December 2013.
During the course of the meeting, Chairman of the Company, Ahmed Sohail Fasiur Rahman, made the following statement to shareholders:
Dear Shareholders,
I am happy to welcome you all to the thirty-eighth annual general meeting of Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited. 2013 has been a challenging year for the Company. I am glad to inform you that the Company has successfully overcome those challenges delivering solid growth in all key business areas. You will note in the MD’s statement and the Directors’ report that, despite tough trading conditions we have maintained growth in our domestic and export sales, achieved our profit targets, improved earnings per share and attained progress as planned in all our key operational areas.
As we grow, we at the same time are concentrating on investing in facilities to enhance our manufacturing capacity to support and sustain growth. In the recent past, we have built and strengthened our capabilities in specialized drug delivery systems namely Sterile Ophthalmic, Prefilled Syringe, Lyophilized Injectable & Liquid Vials and Dry Powder Inhaler. We need to build additional manufacturing facilities to further diversify our portfolio. Moreover, some of our manufacturing units particularly those built in the 1980s and 1990s need upgrading, expansion and replacement to meet the increasing demand as well as the changed global regulatory standards. The Company therefore plans to continue its investment in facilities and processes to drive growth, improve productivity and achieve excellence in operation.
I am pleased to share with you that our Managing Director Mr. Nazmul Hassan MP has been selected as one of the Top 15 most influential Asian Corporate Leaders by World Consulting and Research Corporation (WCRC). Beximco Pharma has also won the “Asia’s Most Promising Brand” award and was shortlisted for the prestigious SCRIP award in the category of “Management Team of the Year”- yet another testimony to Beximco Pharma management’s commitment to excellence.
There have been a few changes in the Board of directors. I am deeply saddened to mention that in this period we lost two of our Board members. Dr. Abdul Alim Khan and Mohammed Abul Qasem both long time directors of the Company passed away on 29 September, 2013 and 19 April, 2014 respectively. Both of them had made tremendous contributions to the progress of the Company and their experience and guidance will be greatly missed.
Barrister Faheemul Huq an independent director on the Board has resigned on personal grounds. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Huq for his contribution to the Company during his time as an independent director.
I am pleased to welcome the two new members who have joined the Board as independent directors. Mr. Mahbubul Alam is a retired senior public administrator and prominent media personality who has held various important positions in both public and private sectors. Dr. Abdur Rahman Khan is a senior and prominent physician in Bangladesh and is currently the chief consultant physician and a professor of Medicine at BIRDEM (Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders). Both of them will also serve as members of the Audit Committee, with Mr. Mahbubul Alam holding the position of chairman.
We hope 2014 will continue to be a good year for us and we are confident we will be able to achieve our strategic goals. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all our employees without whose hard work the Company would not be what it is today. I would also like to extend my thanks to all our valued shareholders and other stakeholders including customers, suppliers, healthcare professionals, government agencies, partners and financial institutions, for their continued support to the Company at all times.
Thank You
A S F Rahman
Chairman.
For further information please visit www.beximco-pharma.com or enquire to:
Beximco Pharma
Nazmul Hassan MP, Managing Director
Tel: +880 2 861 9151, ext.20080
Daniel Stewart & Company (NOMAD and Broker)
Emma Earl
Paul Shackleton
Tel: +44 (0)20 7776 6550
FTI Consulting
Simon Conway/ Victoria Foster-Mitchell
Tel: +44 (0)20 3727 1000
Notes to Editors About Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited
Founded in 1976 and based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Beximco Pharma manufactures and sells generic pharmaceutical formulation products and active pharmaceutical ingredients. The Company also undertakes contract manufacturing for multinational and leading global generic pharmaceutical companies. The Company operates from a 23 acre site in Dhaka and has manufacturing facilities for producing various drugs in different delivery systems such as tablets, capsules, liquids, semi-solids, intravenous fluids, metered dose inhalers, dry powder inhalers, sterile ophthalmic drops, prefilled syringes, injectables, nebulizer solutions etc. Ensuring access to quality medicines is the powerful aspiration that motivates 2,700 employees of the Company.
Beximco Pharma’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities are certified by global regulatory authorities of Australia, European Union and Brazil, among others. The Company’s products are sold to retail outlets, medical institutions and other pharmaceutical manufacturers in Bangladesh, in regional markets such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar and in other markets overseas, principally in Africa, including Mauritius, Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria, Pacific Island and Latin & Central American countries, Middle East and South East Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Hong Kong.
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