Results continue to pour in on last day of week

A summar­y of corpor­ate earnin­gs releas­ed on Friday.

Attock Petroleum

A profit of Rs875.11 million was declared by Attock Petroleum Limited for the quarter ended on September 30, up almost 20 per cent from the corresponding quarter last year. Earnings of Rs15.19 per share were also announced by the company.

Net sales of the company increased more than 11 per cent to Rs18.38 billion. Muhammad Ali Taufiq from BMA Capital attributed the jump to increases in total volumes sold and higher average Arab light crude oil prices during the period. Income on bank deposits and short-term investments and share of profit of associated companies, both went up.

Meanwhile, finance cost skyrocketed to about Rs170 million from the Rs10.52 million recorded in the same quarter last year. The result has beat market expectations as research houses were expecting a net profit in the vicinity of Rs810 million.

Attock Refinery Limited

Meanwhile, Attock Refinery booked a profit of Rs583.32 million for the quarter – a significant improvement from the loss of Rs396.25 million in the corresponding quarter last year.

Pakistan Oilfields

Pakistan Oilfields reported a net profit increase of 57 per cent during July to September on the back of higher oil and gas production volumes.

The net profit stood at Rs2.23 billion or Rs9.44 per share in the first quarter of fiscal year 2011 compared with last year’s Rs1.43 billion or Rs6.03 per share, according to a communiqué sent to the Karachi Stock Exchange on Friday.

The growth in net profit is primarily attributed to a massive 130 per cent growth in POL’s total gas flows on a yearly basis and 30 per cent jump in oil during the period under review, say analysts. This significant production growth is due to the commencement of Manzalai facility.

Net sales of the company more than doubled to Rs6.39 billion from last year’s Rs3.18 billion. A six per cent jump in the average Arab light crude price also supported the revenue growth, said JS Global Capital analyst Umer Ayaz.

Unilever

Unilever Pakistan’s net profit dropped 6.7 per cent to Rs2.14 billion in the first nine months of 2010 compared with last year’s Rs2.29 billion.

The net profit – higher than expectation – did not increase as the largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) firm of the country delayed its plan of starting activity in the rural areas following the floods, said AKD Securities analyst Misbah Iqbal.

The company absorbed rising input costs while focusing on enhancing consumers, said the company board of directors in the result review.

Revenue of the company grew 16 per cent during January to September due to strong volumes growth in ice cream, spreads including Blue Band and health and personal care category, informed the company officials. Net sales stood at Rs33 billion against last year’s Rs28.5 billion.

However, rampant smuggling of tea continued to affect the beverages category, company officials added.

Restructuring costs surged 718 per cent to Rs90 million while administrative expense rose 17 per cent to Rs886 million.

Pakistan Mobile Communication

Losses of Pakistan Mobile Communication Limited (Mobilink), the largest telecom company, decreased to Rs2.28 billion in the first nine months of 2010 compared with losses of Rs3.28 billion in the same period last year. Revenues firmed 9 per cent to Rs66.9 billion from Rs60.4 billion posted in the same period last year, according to a notice sent to the stock exchange on Friday.

Mobilink, part of Orascom Telecom Holding, was recognised by the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) as one of the top donors among its member companies. The OICCI, which represents 185 foreign companies, highlighted Mobilink’s contribution of Rs236 million as one of the largest private sector relief initiatives followed by Unilever at Rs128 million.

The firm’s selling and general expense rose more than 19 per cent to Rs15.3 billion against Rs12.79 billion recorded in the same period last year.

BANKING SECTOR

NBP

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) announced an increase of 20 per cent to Rs11.36 billion in its unconsolidated net profit for the first nine months of 2010.

The bank’s provisions for loan defaults almost halved to Rs4.59 billion from last year’s Rs8.63 billion, said a statement sent to the Karachi Stock Exchange on Friday. Net interest income for the largest bank, asset-wise, rose 14 per cent to Rs31.7 billion against last year’s Rs27.7 billion.

Unlike previous years, the bank did not receive any dividend from NIT this year, said JS Global Capital analyst Mustufa Bilwani.

Bank Alfalah

A profit of Rs1.5 billion (corresponding earnings of Rs1.11 per share) was announced by Bank Alfalah for the nine months ended on September 30, according to an official notification sent to the Karachi Stock Exchange on Friday. The figure marks a decrease of more than three per cent from the Rs1.56 billion profit declared during the same period last year. While interest income went up almost five per cent to Rs27.93 billion, non-interest income shrank 15 per cent to Rs3.37 billion in the period.

Moreover, administrative expenses also went up about 16 per cent to Rs9.01 billion. Nonetheless, the bank posted a profit before tax of Rs2.25 billion (up 14 per cent from last year) but a higher effective tax rate this year resulted in a lower net profit. “The earnings are decent considering the bank has booked Rs0.61 billion in provision for diminution in value of investments, most likely due to a Rs500 million impairment expense on Warid Telecom, and still managed to declare Rs0.31 earnings per share for the quarter,” commented Mustufa Bilwani from JS Global Capital. For the quarter, the bank declared a profit after tax of Rs422.86 million (corresponding earnings of Rs0.31) compared with the Rs452 million profit in the same period last year.

Faysal Bank

Faysal Bank’s net profit for the nine months ended on September 30 almost doubled to Rs1.81 billion compared with the same period last year, according to a communiqué sent to the Karachi Stock Exchange on Friday. Corresponding earnings per share of Rs2.97 for the period were also announced.

Net interest income after provisions jumped 18 per cent to Rs3.04 billion, while non-interest income also went up by 12 per cent to Rs2.43 billion. However, similar to other banks, administrative

NIB Bank

NIB Bank on Friday declared a massive loss of Rs3.56 billion for the nine-month period ended on September 30 and corresponding loss per share of Rs0.88. The bank had declared a profit of Rs794.42 million during the same period last year.

Net interest income fell to negative Rs1.3 billion from Rs3.75 billion last year. This was not just because of a decrease in interest earned and increase in interest paid but the provision for non-performing loans and advances went up to Rs3.62 billion from a reversal of Rs178.66 million in the preceding year. Moreover, non-interest income also fell by a whopping 99 per cent to Rs58.52 million. “With a relatively larger proportion of loans in the small and medium enterprises and consumer segments... the poor performance of these segments in the weak economic environment has led to higher non-performing loans and provisioning, impacting revenues and growth,” read an official communique sent by the bank to the Karachi Stock Exchange.

For the quarter ended on September 30, the bank declared a Rs1.62 billion loss, mainly for reasons similar to those stated above. Non-interest income for the quarter fell to negative Rs0.99 billion from the positive Rs1.6 billion recorded in the same quarter last year.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30th, 2010.