Engro Fertilizers’ profit edges down 4.4% to Rs2.8b

Declares interim cash dividend of Rs3 per share

KARACHI: Engro Fertilizers announced net consolidated earnings of Rs2.8 billion in the quarter ended September 2017, down 4.4% compared to Rs2.93 billion in the same period of previous year, according to a company notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

Earnings per share stood at Rs2.11 in Jul-Sep 2017 compared to Rs2.15 in the corresponding quarter of preceding year.

In the first nine months of 2017, the company made a net profit of Rs6.92 billion as opposed to Rs5.74 billion in the same period of previous year.

According to a report of Topline Securities, the results came in above market expectations.



Along with the quarterly results, the company declared an interim cash dividend of Rs3 per share, taking nine-month payout to Rs5.5 compared to Rs4.5 per share in the same period of last year.

The KSE 100-share Index closed at 41,291, down 192 points or 0.46% on Tuesday. Engro Fertilizers’ stock stood at Rs65.36, up 2.73%.

Sales grew 14% at Rs21.1 billion compared to Rs18.63 billion last year, driven by 90% higher sales of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), estimated at 215,000 tons according to provisional September data.

Domestic urea sales were estimated to have contracted 7% year-on-year to 462,000 tons while exports were around 100,000 tons in the Jul-Sep quarter.

Gross profit was 25% higher year-on-year as margins improved three percentage points to 29% because of replacement of Rs300-per-bag cash subsidy on DAP (previously recorded in other income) with a fixed Rs100-per-bag sales tax recorded in the sales head.



Other income dropped 57% following reduction in urea cash subsidy and replacement of DAP subsidy, along with lower urea sales.

Finance cost fell 13% to Rs694 million due to deleveraging and lower interest rates.

Key risks for the company included a decline in international urea prices, slower-than-expected urea sales and weaker-than-expected local urea prices, the report added. 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2017.

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