Lucky Cement earns Rs3.36b

Cumulative profit rises 3% to Rs9.61b in nine months

KARACHI: Lucky Cement - one of the largest cement manufacturers in Pakistan - has announced a net profit of Rs3.36 billion in the third quarter (Jan-Mar) of financial year 2015-16, up 2% compared to Rs3.29 billion in the same period of previous year, according to a company notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

Earnings per share (EPS) edged up to Rs10.39 compared to Rs10.16 last year.

The result was in line with market estimates, according to a Topline Securities report.



The KSE 100-share index closed at 33,684, down 54 points or 0.16%. Lucky Cement’s stock stood at Rs546 at the end of trading, down 0.72%.

The cumulative profitability of the company rose to Rs9.61 billion in the first nine months (Jul-Mar) of 2015-16, up 3% compared to Rs9.30 billion in the same period of last year.

On a sequential basis, the company’s topline recorded a growth of 1% to Rs11.6 billion, given a growth of 2% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) in total sales to 1.788 million tons with stable cement prices. Gross margins during the third quarter grew 140 basis points to 48.8% amid a tilt in the company’s sales mix towards local sales (up 8% QoQ to 1.46 million tons).

In nine months, with coal prices exhibiting a 21% year-on-year (YoY) drop, the margins widened 3.2 percentage points to 47.5%. Meanwhile, distribution costs during the period under review went up in line with sales (up 1% QoQ to Rs479 million), mainly due to higher cement demand. In the first nine months, a 39% drop in distribution costs was attributable mainly to a 34% plunge in exports to 1.228 million tons.

The company is rigorously taking up its new green field cement facility, having a capacity of 2.3 million tons costing $200 million, with the government of Punjab in order to acquire land and finalise equipment suppliers by June.

In other announcement, the company said its 10-megawatt waste heat recovery plant at the Pezu facility was expected to come online by December 2016.

The company is also negotiating a revised tariff with Nepra for the supply of surplus electricity from the Pezu power plant to the Peshawar Electric Supply Company. After a meeting in March, the final tariff determination is expected in the current month.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th,  2016.

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