Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) saw its earnings per share (EPS) plunge 26 percent year-on-year to Tk 3.29 in the October-December period of the current fiscal year, according to disclosure on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).

In a filing with the country's premier bourse, company officials said lower international shipping fares and rising maintenance costs amid ongoing inflation and a persisting US dollar crisis pulled down their net profit, effectively reducing their earnings.

And in terms of the six-month average, BSC's EPS was around Tk 6.59 during the July-December period, down 21.64 percent year-on-year.

At the end of last year, the company's net asset value per share stood at Tk 90.79 against Tk 86.67 as of June 30, 2021.

Contacted, outgoing BSC Managing Director Commodore Md Ziaul Hoque said their earnings decreased in the first half of fiscal 2023-24 due to a noticeable decline in hire rates during the period.

According to shipping agents, global shipping freight decreased by around 50 percent year-on-year as of July 2023.

He informed that two of their vessels have remained idle at times over the past two quarters as they were taken to drydocks for repairs, maintenance and survey.

Drydocking is usually carried on each ship after every five years.

As such, the two vessels could not be put up for hire while the company continued to count costs for their upkeep.

"Moreover, maintenance costs risen due to inflation and devaluation of the local currency, and all these impacted on our profit," Hoque said.

He predicts that the present situation will persist throughout the second half of the current fiscal as a new crisis has emerged in the Red Sea.

The BSC began its journey with only two ships in 1972 and got listed in the stock market in 1977.

Currently, the company has seven vessels in its fleet.

Two of them were purchased in 1987 while six new ships, comprising three oil tankers and three bulk carriers, were purchased in 2018.

One of the six new ships, "Banglar Samriddhi", was damaged in a bomb attack at a Ukrainian port last year.

Now, BSC has taken an initiative to add a total of 18 new ships to its fleet in a short period of time in order to enhance its capacity for transporting seaborne cargo.

Of the 18 ships, the purchase of four vessels at a cost of around Tk 2,500 crore has made good progres as BSC already signed a contract with the China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation to this end.

The four vessels are comprised of two bulk carriers and two crude oil tankers.

Hoque said he hopes the construction of these four new vessels will start in February this year and end in 20 months.