corporate results: Hubco’s profit increases 11% due to higher furnace oil prices

Board recommends interim cash dividend of Rs1.5 per share

KARACHI: Hub Power Company’s (Hubco) consolidated profit increased 11% to Rs3.01 billion in the quarter ended December 31, 2017 mainly due to higher turnover, according to a notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday.

Securities brokerage houses commented that the independent power producer generated comparatively low electricity at all the three production units under its management, but managed to post higher turnover and profit due to higher furnace oil prices and reduction in rupee’s value compared to the US dollar.



The company had booked a profit of Rs2.72 billion in the same quarter of last year.

Earnings per share (EPS) stood at Rs2.52 in the Oct-Dec 2017 quarter compared with Rs2.25 in the corresponding quarter of previous year.

The board of directors recommended an interim cash dividend of Rs1.5 per share. This was in addition to the previous interim cash dividend of a similar amount of Rs1.5 per share.

The new entitlement will be paid to those shareholders whose names will appear in the register of members on March 8, 2018. Hubco’s share price increased 0.74%, or Rs0.73, to close at Rs99.29 with 714,000 shares changing hands at the PSX.



Revenue increased 11% to Rs26.95 billion from Rs24.35 billion “owing to over 36% year-on-year rise in furnace oil prices despite lower load factor from all three plants and 2% year-on-year depreciation in Pakistani rupee,” IGI Securities said in post-result comments.

On the flip side, finance costs increased 8% to Rs1.14 billion from Rs1.05 billion. The share of loss from associates rose to Rs62 million from Rs56 million on a year-on-year basis. Cumulatively, in the first half (July-December 2017), the profit improved 3.6% to Rs5.56 billion (EPS Rs4.58) from Rs5.37 billion (EPS Rs4.38) in the corresponding period of previous year.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2018.

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