Carew set for record Tk 165 crore profit despite sugar unit losses

Carew & Company (Bangladesh) Ltd, the nearly 90-year-old state-owned enterprise in Darshana, Chuadanga, is on course to post its highest-ever net profit despite continued losses in its sugar unit.

According to its potential profit and loss account for 2025-26, the company’s combined net profit is projected at Tk 165,24,31,000 surpassing its previous record of Tk 129,44,74,000 in 2024-25.

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The distillery is driving the growth, with projected profit of Tk 2,23,79,32,000. The bio-fertiliser unit is expected to earn Tk 1,47,84,000, while the commercial farm, Akandbaria unit and distillery pharmaceuticals unit are projected to earn Tk 5,47,000, Tk 7,62,000 and Tk 3,79,000 respectively.

These earnings are expected to offset a projected Tk 60,19,73,000 loss from the sugar factory.

The sugar factory incurred a loss of Tk 62.35 crore in 2024-25, even as Carew posted its then-record net profit. The distillery earned Tk 1,90,26,77,000 that year.

Carew’s net profit rose from Tk 1,12,79,10,000 in 2023-24 to Tk 1,29,44,74,000 in 2024-25. If the latest projection is achieved, its profit will have risen by more than Tk 53 crore in two years.

The sugar unit’s persistent losses have been attributed by stakeholders to ageing machinery, poor-quality sugarcane and a low recovery rate. Meanwhile, sugarcane by-products, particularly the distillery business, have become the company’s main source of income.

Md Rabbik Hasan, managing director of the company, said the company earned more from its various units this year than in previous years.

“The losses in the sugar industry have also decreased slightly. We are working to reduce the losses further and increase the company’s profits in the future,” he said.

Established in Darshana in 1938, Carew’s sugar and distillery factory initially had the capacity to process 1,000 tonnes of sugarcane a day and produce 18,000 proof litres of spirit.

It has since expanded into an industrial complex with sugar, distillery, pharmaceutical, farming and bio-fertiliser units.