KARACHI:
Fatima Fertilizer has posted a profit of Rs2.59 billion in the first six months of 2012 against a loss of Rs153 million in the preceding period primarily by selling more fertiliser.
The Arif Habib Group subsidiary sold 170,000, 185,000 and 87,000 tons of urea, calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) and Nitro-Phosphate (NP) respectively, showing 23% decline in urea sales whereas encouraging 13% growth in CAN sales on a yearly basis. These sales led the revenue to clock in at Rs12.6 billion during January to June 2012, said BMA Capital analyst Farid Aliani.
Bulk of the sales came in June, more than making up for dismal sales performance in the first five months, added Aliani.
The board of directors approved the result in a meeting held on Monday in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The company is expected to perform better than its peers as it is provided protection by getting gas around 80% cheaper than rest of the industry for being a new player in the industry. The company is in second years of operation. Industry giant Engro Fertilizers has reported a loss for the period under review.
The result is, however, lower than market estimate as analyst expected the bottom-line to be on average around Rs3.7 billion.
Deviation from estimates primarily came from the topline where the company offered heavy discounts on products compared to peers in order to boost sales, according to Shajar Research.
The company’s stock price declined Rs0.41 to close at Rs23.62 during trade at the Karachi Stock Exchange.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th, 2012.
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