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GSK's earnings nosedive on pharma unit closure

Star Business Report
GSK Bangladesh incurred a huge loss in the third quarter because of the closure of its pharmaceuticals unit in the country.
The shutting down of the pharmaceutical operations involves a significant amount of costs in terms of severance payment to employees, impairment of non-current assets and inventory write-off, said the drug-maker in a posting on the website of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).
These expenses affected the financial result of the entity leading to a significant deviation between earnings per share (EPS) and net asset value (NAV), it said.
"We have witnessed the loss in this quarter due to the cost of the closure of the pharmaceutical unit," said Nakibur Rahman, managing director of GSK Bangladesh.
Continued losses in recent years forced GlaxoSmithKline to close the medicine manufacturing unit in July after more than she decades of operation.
The British drug-maker posted a negative EPS ofTk48.64 in the July-September quarter against Tk 20.50 in the same period the previous year.
Overall, the EPS was Tk 33.50 in negative in January-September, down from Tk 39.78 in the same nine-month period last year. The NAV per share stood at Tk 129.85 on September 30, much lower thanTk 204.43 recorded on the same day a year ago.
Rahman said GSK completed the compensation deal with all the employees of the unit. As a result, it had to bear a huge cost in the third quarter.
The unit had employed more than 800 permanent and nearly 200 temporary employees before its closure.
"The expenditure will not continue in the next quarter. Moreover, a good amount will be added to the earnings in future from the unit's assets. But at first we have to decontaminate the unit," said Rahman.
GSK Bangladesh, however, would continue with its profitable consumer health care business that produces items like Horlicks, Sensodyne and Glaxose-D.
The stocks of GSK Bangladesh fell 0.17 percent to Tk 1,068 on the DSEyesterday.
The DSEX, the benchmark index of the bourse, dropped 19.48 points, or 0.37 percent, to close the day at 5,238.98. Turnover rose 1.8 percent to Tk 539.32 crore.
Khulna Power was the top traded stock with 34.11 lakh shares worth Tk 36.08 crore changing hands, followed by United Power Generation, BBS Cables, Intraco Refueling and Nurani Dyeing.
Hakkani Pulp & Paper Mills was the day's best performer with a gain of 21.27 percent on the back of the disclosure by the company.
US wages gains will get Fed's attention; no rate hike yet
AFP, Washington
Wage gains at long last have made an appearance in the US economy after a baffling absence amid robust job growth but the Federal Reserve is expected to hold its fire next week.
Central bankers certainly will take notice of the recent data, with especial focus on everything contributing to inflation, but have made it clear they are committed to a gradual pace of increases in the benchmark lending rate, meaning the fourth hike of the year will not come until December.
The Fed's rate-setting Federal Open Market (FOMC) meets Wednesday and Thursday but, in keeping with recent custom, economists do not expect any moves to be made since this meeting is not one that will be followed by a press conference with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.
That dynamic will change next year when Powell will hold a briefing after every policy meeting, making economists' forecasts a bit more lively.
Fed officials have made it clear the economy can continue to perform well for some time with the current course of rate increases. Three more are expected next year as the central bank removes stimulus from the economy to prevent price pressures from accelerating.
The meeting takes place against the backdrop of President Donald Trump's repeated attacks on Powell for raising rates, which has injected an unwelcome political element into the deliberations. Trump said the Fed has gone " crazy’ and posed the greatest threat to his economic policies by moving too fast.
’He was supposed to be a low-interest-rate guy. It's turned out that he's not, ’ Trump said.
But the Fed has made it clear more rate hikes will be needed, since as companies increasingly are having difficulty finding and keeping workers, which likely means wages will rise faster.
RegentTextile was the biggest loser, shedding 11.64 percent.
Losers outnumbered gainers by 159 to 142, while 34 securities remained unchanged.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange also witnessed fall as its key index declined 47.86 points, finishing the day at 9,747.19.The port city bourse uaded 88.01 lakh sharesand mutual fund units worth Tk 31.18 crore.