Lucky Cement to raise production potential

KARACHI: Lucky Cement has decided to increase the production capacity of its Karachi plant by 1.25 million tonnes per annum in response to the growing demands of mega infrastructure development projects under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The increase in capacity will boost total production to 11.3m tonnes from the current 7.75m tonnes, taking into account the 2.3m tonne capacity increase in Punjab.

The total cost of the proposed increase would be around $30m, the company informed the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday.

ArcelorMittal Q2 profits sharply up

PARIS: Global steel giant ArcelorMittal on Friday posted a sharp $1.1-billion (1bn-euro) increase in second quarter profits, driven by rising steel prices and a one-off gain from a deal at its US subsidiary.

The figure stood in contrast with the previous quarter when the French firm, the world’s biggest steel producer, had registered a net loss of $400 million.

Revenues for the quarter amounted to $14.7bn, largely due to an exceptional gain of $832m stemming from the reduction in health coverage for personnel at its US subsidiary, ArcelorMittal USA, a group statement said.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2016