JAT Holdings to invest Rs. 800 mn to strengthen overseas operations
Managing Director of JAT Holdings Aelian Gunawardene at the virtual launch of the IPO yesterday said that these investments would be made from the proceeds raised from the proposed Rs. 2.2 billion IPO which would be launched on July 20. The overseas operation investments would be made through a fully owned subsidiary of JAT Holdings, DMCC based in Dubai.
“We will also be investing Rs. 30 million for enhancing the existing R&D facility to a fully-fledged, state-of-the-art facility for all coatings and a further RS. 250 million locally for expanding the WHITE by JAT marketing and development initiatives.’ The IPO will be managed by CAL and NDB Investment Bank and JAT Holdings’ hopes to raise Rs. 2.2 billion by offering 82,904,846 ordinary voting shares to the public. The IPO price per share of Rs. 27.00 offers an immediate upside of 21% to an incoming investor on the value per share of Rupee.
JAT Holdings also discloses that they had a turnover of Rs. 1 billion in 2011 but have now grown to be a Rs. 9 billion company. “We hope to post a Profit After Tax of Rs. 1.2 billion by the end of 2021.”
Currently JAT enjoys a market share of 28% in the PU wood coatings segment in Bangladesh and the JAT brand is synonymous with high-quality wood coatings in Bangladesh and is the exclusive supplier to 7 of the 15 largest industrial furnishing exporters in Bangladesh. Furthermore, Bangladesh has accounted for an average turnover of Rs 1.5 billion post Covid accounting for 30% revenue share of the company, making it the second-largest market, after Sri Lanka.
It was also disclosed that JAT holding is looking at a ‘listing’ in Bangladesh in the next five years. Chairman JAT Holdings Dr Sivakumar Selliah, said that the company has been adopting Colombo Stock Exchange guidelines for many years and even went to the extent of publishing an annual report.
(SS)