With lower tax, Lucky Cement’s earnings rise to Rs13.69b

Company declares Rs12 per share final dividend for FY17

KARACHI: Lucky Cement, one of the largest cement manufacturers in Pakistan, has reported net earnings of Rs13.69 billion in the year ended June 2017, up 6% from Rs12.94 billion in the previous year.

Earnings per share rose to Rs42.34 in financial year 2016-17 compared to Rs40.03 in the previous year.

The company declared final dividend of Rs12 per share for FY17, according to a notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday.



Lucky Cement’s stock fell 0.50% at Rs707.85 at the PSX whereas the KSE 100-share Index closed at 46,010, up 98 points or 0.21%.

Lucky’s earnings were higher than expectation because of lower effective tax rate at around 20% in the fourth quarter in the wake of a 2% rebate. This was due to Shariah-compliant status of the company coupled with increase in deferred taxes, according to a research report of Alfalah Securities.

Revenues fell 11% quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter of FY17 due to a 10% decline in cement sales. The dip in dispatches was the result of a 9% quarter-on-quarter drop in domestic demand coupled with weakening exports, which were down 20%.

In an effort to set up a 2.3-million-ton Greenfield plant in Punjab, Lucky Cement is in negotiations with the provincial government in order to get the necessary authorisation.

On the other hand, extension of the Karachi plant is expected to be completed by the end of calendar year 2017. The project cost is estimated at $30 million.

Regarding its 660-megawatt coal-fired power plant, the company has received intimation from Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company for coal allocation.

Project implementation, however, is being delayed because the power purchaser has limited the use of imported coal to two years even in the event of unavailability of local coal beyond this period.

The company is targeting to achieve financial close of the project by December 2017.

In the automobile venture, Kia Lucky Motors Pakistan has got the Greenfield investment status in June 2017 from the Ministry of Industries and Production and the company expects to start plant construction by the second quarter of FY18.



Meanwhile, the first half of the Brownfield expansion of a cement grinding unit in Basra, Iraq is expected to come online by October this year while the remaining half will become operational by November 2017.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1^st, 2017.

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