The Peninsula Chittagong Ltd incurred a loss of Tk 11.86 lakh in the October-December quarter of the financial year 2023-24 due to a surge in operational costs and a sharp appreciation of the US dollar.

Thus, earnings per share (EPS) stood at a negative Tk 0.01 against Tk 0.08 positive in the identical quarter in the previous year, according to the unaudited financial report.

The hotel company witnessed a 6.28 percent increase in sales. However, the cost of sales also increased 12.66 percent, according to a filing on the Dhaka Stock Exchange today.

The EPS was Tk 0.11 negative in the first six months of FY24, down from Tk 0.25 a year earlier.

The company's cash flow per share recorded a loss of Tk 0.30 in the second quarter, down from Tk 0.19 last year.

Mohammed Nurul Azim, company secretary of Peninsula Chittagong, attributed the loss to higher expenses needed to import consumable items due to the depreciation of the taka against the dollar.

"As a star-rated hotel, we need to buy almost all consumable items from international markets. So, the operational cost increased and the profit declined significantly," he said.

Net asset value per share was Tk 28.77 on December 31 against Tk 28.88 on June 30.