Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) is set to add three more vessels to its fleet within the next six months, as the state-owned company reports its highest-ever net profit since its establishment 54 years ago.
During the last fiscal year, BSC recorded a net profit of Tk 30.6 billion, the highest in its history. Continuing the trend of the previous year, the corporation has declared a 25 percent cash dividend for its shareholders. The information was disclosed by Shipping Adviser M Sakhawat Hossain at BSC’s 48th Annual General Meeting held on Monday (22 December).
In the 2021–22 fiscal year, BSC’s net profit crossed the Tk 20 billion mark for the first time, reaching Tk 22.5 billion. In the most recent 2024–25 fiscal year, the government-owned shipping company achieved a record net profit of Tk 30.656 billion, the highest in its 54-year history.
Addressing the 48th Annual General Meeting, the Chairman of BSC’s Board of Directors and Shipping Adviser said that dividends could not be increased this year as the corporation, for the first time, purchased two new cargo vessels using its own funds at a cost of Tk 9.36 billion. He added that three additional vessels will be added to BSC’s fleet within the next six months.
The adviser also stated that while new terminals are being constructed at ports and foreign investment is increasing, Chattogram Port remains under the influence of entrenched syndicates. He said that the nature of the syndicates operating at the port is well known and does not require repetition. He questioned why the port has seen improvement now and not in the past, noting that no fundamentally new infrastructure has been added, and claimed that vested interests react strongly whenever these issues are raised.
One of the two vessels purchased from China, Banglar Pragati, has already been added to the fleet and is generating a daily income of Tk 2.5 million. Meanwhile, the process of purchasing six additional container vessels with support from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is underway, according to the Director of BSC’s Management Department.
BSC Management Director Commodore Mahmudul Malek said that the corporation has, for the first time in its history, purchased two vessels entirely with its own financing at a cost of Tk 9.36 billion and is in the process of acquiring another vessel. He explained that due to the additional expenditure on vessel acquisition, profit bonuses and dividends for shareholders have been maintained at the same level this year.
At the meeting, shareholders demanded higher dividends in the future. One shareholder urged the management to adopt a more liberal approach towards shareholders and registered stakeholders, requesting the creation of an environment that better accommodates their interests.
Currently, BSC’s total assets stand at approximately Tk 35.83 billion, while its total liabilities amount to Tk 19.83 billion.
