Standard Ceramic Industries Ltd, a tableware ceramic manufacturer, reduced losses in the fiscal year 2022-23 as sales dropped.

The net loss stood at Tk 12.29 crore in the last financial year against Tk 19.32 crore in 2021-22.

The ceramic company recorded a turnover of Tk 24.44 crore in FY23, down from Tk 31.13 crore in FY22, according to the financial statement.

Shares of the company declined 8.93 percent to Tk 115.30 on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) today.

As of June 30, the company's liabilities stood at Tk 40 crore while it was Tk 24.80 crore on the same day a year ago.

In a filing, the ceramic maker said various reasons like the post-Covid-19 financial crisis, the shortage of raw materials and suspension of gas and electricity supply led to the stoppage of its production.

"We could not import raw materials regularly for around last two years due to a lack of capital and difficulties in opening letters of credit amid the shortage of the US dollar," said Jamal Uddin Bhuiyan, company secretary of Standard Ceramic.

He said the sales declined drastically due to the ongoing economic crisis.

"With the gas crisis having a severe effect, the board decided to stop production until the situation returns to normalcy."

The company has decided not to lay off any workers despite the closure of production from January 26. Standard Ceramic has around 600 workers.

The company mainly retails products in the local market and sells some products in the export destinations.