February 26, 2008	Tuesday	Safar 18, 1429

KARACHI, Feb 25: Lucky Cement Company Limited intends to offer its stalled GDR worth $150 million during the current financial year, the company’s Finance Director Muhammad Abid Ganatra said on Monday.

The company also released its financial results for the half year ended on December 31, 2007, posting after-tax profit at Rs1,349 million, translating into earnings per share (eps) at Rs5.12. In the same time last year, the company had reported taxed profit at Rs792 million and eps at Rs3.01.

The aggregate sales were valued at Rs7,200 million for the period under review compared to Rs5,579 million in the corresponding previous half year, which was supported by exports that rose by 156.05 per cent to Rs3,614 million, from Rs1,404 million. Local sales were down to Rs3,587 million, from Rs4,175 million.

A statement issued by the company said: “Overall share of the company has been managed at 18.97 per cent out of total dispatches of the industry, whereas export share of the company was 38.84 per cent for the half year under review”. The company stated that during the half year, sales revenue had increased by 29.07 per cent mainly due to quantitative growth.

The company is focussing on exports where it said: “The new contract prices for loose cement export executed for calendar year 2008 are better than previous year contract prices, but its impact will start reflecting from third quarter”.

The company complained of lower local prices and the finance director stated that the cement industry “will have to pass on the increasing cost of production to the consumers by raising prices in the local market”. He explained that the cost of coal had risen phenomenally.

So would the increasing trend of the industry to turn to foreign markets create shortage in the local markets? The company does not think so, pointing to surplus production. But ask builders and their associations and they would blurt out unsavoury words for cement industry and its ‘practices’.