Three dozen listed firms still have not filed FY25 reports

As many as 36 listed companies have yet to publish their annual financial statements for fiscal year 2024-25, although around a year has passed since the end of the reporting period, leaving thousands of investors in the dark.

The delays have also raised questions about whether the existing penalties are strong enough to ensure compliance, as companies continue to miss reporting deadlines despite regulatory requirements.

The issue comes at a time when Beximco Pharmaceuticals recently faced the risk of delisting from the London Stock Exchange due to delays in publishing financial statements. The company later moved to approve the reports and resolve boardroom disputes to avoid delisting.

Market analysts say the contrast shows the difference between enforcement and compliance in Bangladesh and international markets.

According to them, while exchanges abroad can suspend trading and eventually delist companies for prolonged reporting failures, defaulting firms in Bangladesh usually only face fines under existing rules.

According to stock exchange data, 204 listed companies with financial years ending on June 30, 2025, were required to publish their audited annual financial statements within the stipulated timeframe.

Of them, 165 companies managed to publish the reports. Another three companies disclosed the reports, but they were not found on their websites. The remaining 36 companies are yet to publish their annual financial statements.

According to the listing regulations, annual financial statements must be audited within 120 days from the end of a financial year and submitted to the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and the stock exchanges within 14 days.

Companies are also required to keep detailed annual and quarterly financial statements on their websites. For delays in submitting annual audited accounts, listed firms face a penalty of Tk 5,000 a day.

But market analysts say the fines are too small to work as an effective deterrent.

“Financial reports are the most important and primary protection for general investors. When a company does not publish them for such a long time, it deprives investors of information,” said Saiful Islam, president of the DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh (DBA).

He said many markets follow stricter rules.

“At the London Stock Exchange, if a company fails to publish its report within the stipulated period, trading can be suspended. Continued non-compliance can ultimately lead to delisting,” Islam added.

“In our country, solving these issues merely with fines will not work. A fine is a very minor matter.”

According to him, companies that fail to publish financial statements are falling short of their commitments to investors and creating concerns over transparency and corporate governance.

“It is the responsibility of the stock exchange to monitor whether these deviations are occurring and to take action. If these issues are not corrected, investor confidence will not return.”

The DBA president said the stock exchanges and the BSEC should revisit the regulations and consider stricter penalties for repeated non-compliance.

INVESTORS LEFT WITHOUT ANSWERS

For investors, the delays mean they are unable to assess the financial health of the companies in which they have invested.Mahbubur Rahman, an investor in Standard Ceramic Industries, said he had already incurred losses after the company stopped paying dividends following the 2022 financial year.

Now, with the company’s financial statements unavailable, he has little insight into its financial condition.

“I can’t make my decision without reading the reports as I am already at a loss,” said Rahman. “Whatever the situation, the company should publish its financial reports.”

Jamal Uddin Bhuiyan, company secretary of Standard Ceramic Industries, said the company had some technical problems that delayed the publication of financial statements.

He said the company’s operations remain closed and the chief financial officer is ill. Bhuiyan said the chief financial officer is having kidney dialysis treatments.

“When the CFO gets well, we will complete the reporting process,” he said.

COMPANIES OFFER DIFFERENT EXPLANATIONS

Among the companies yet to publish annual financial statements are Best Holdings, Active Fine Chemicals, AFC Agro Biotech, Keya Cosmetics, Aramit Cement, SP Ceramics, Standard Ceramic Industries, S Alam Cold Rolled Steels, Shurwid Industries and SS Steel.

Others include Yeakin Polymer, Emerald Oil, Fu-Wang Foods, Gemini Sea Food, National Tea Company, Aamra Technologies, Aamra Networks, Generation Next Fashions, Beximco Ltd, Hami Industries, Savar Refractories, SK Trims & Industries, Legacy Footwear, Alhaj Textile Mills, Alif Industries, Alif Manufacturing Company, Dragon Sweater and Spinning and Hamid Fabrics.

The list also includes HR Textile Mills, Nurani Dyeing & Sweater, New Line Clothings, Regent Textile Mills, Pacific Denims, Tung Hai Knitting & Dyeing, Zaheen Spinning, Associated Oxygen, BD Welding Electrodes, Delta Spinners and Maksons Spinning Mills.

Kattali Textile, Delta Spinners and Maksons Spinning disclosed their reports, but those were not available on their websites.

Some companies cited operational and administrative reasons for the delays.

Md Abul Kalam, acting company secretary of SS Steel, said the company’s board members have remained abroad since the 2024 political changeover, preventing the board from approving the financial statements.

Al-Mamun, company secretary of S Alam Cold Rolled Steels, declined to comment.

Officials of Active Fine Chemicals, AFC Agro Biotech, Keya Cosmetics and Aramit Cement could not be reached as their phones were switched off.

Contact information for the company secretaries of Pacific Denims, Shurwid Industries and Tung Hai Knitting was not available.

BSEC TO TAKE ACTION

Md Abul Kalam, spokesperson for the BSEC, said the regulator takes action against listed companies in accordance with existing rules when they fail to comply with reporting requirements.

Sometimes companies seek extensions, and if approved by the commission, they are required to submit reports within the extended deadline, he said.“As the regulator has a process to take action, it sometimes takes time. But action will be taken,” he added.