KAPCO’s earnings slip to Rs2.18b

Dip comes due to increased short-term borrowing

KARACHI: Kot Addu Power Company’s (Kapco) profit dropped 6% to Rs2.18 billion in the quarter ended September 2017 mainly due to increased finance cost paid for short-term borrowing, according to a bourse filing on Thursday.

The power generation and distribution company had earned Rs2.31 billion in the same quarter of previous year.



Accordingly, earnings per share decreased to Rs2.48 from Rs2.63. Kapco’s share price inched up 0.24%, or Rs0.17, to Rs68.24 with a volume of 126,500 shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

Finance cost increased substantially by 67% year-on-year to Rs1.59 billion during the quarter from Rs955.27 million in the corresponding period of last year. This happened “likely due to increased short-term borrowing, leading to higher interest cost”, IGI Securities said in post-result comments.

Sales surged 22% to Rs21.57 billion from Rs17.75 billion. This came because of “7% rise in power dispatches to 1,852 gigawatt hours (load factor 63% versus 59% in the same period of last year) and 23% increase in furnace oil prices,” JS Research said.



IGI added gross margins fell three percentage points to 16% from 19% in the corresponding period of last year “likely owing to higher maintenance cost as a result of overhaul of gas turbines”. Other income rose 30% to Rs1.39 billion from Rs1.07 billion potentially because of higher interest earned on receivables, it said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2017.

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