Bank of Punjab profit surges 61pc

LAHORE: The Bank of Punjab’s half yearly profits were posted at Rs6.1 billion, up 61 per cent, from Rs3.8bn in the corresponding period of last year.

Earnings per share (EPS) for the half year stood at Rs1.43.—Staff Reporter

INIL records Rs5.27bn earnings

KARACHI: International Industries Ltd (INIL) declared FY18 consolidated profit after tax (PAT) at Rs5.27bn, higher by 26pc, and EPS at Rs Rs28.75.

The board also announced a dividend at Rs6.50 per share. Net sales of the company rose to Rs64.5bn, from Rs44.1bn.—Equities Correspondent

General Tyre profit dips

KARACHI: General Tyre & Rubber posted FY18 PAT at Rs716m (EPS: Rs11.97), down 19pc from Rs881 earnings (EPS: Rs14.75) a year ago.

The company announced a cash dividend of Rs6 per share and a surprise 70pc stock dividend. Analyst Ahmed Raza at Intermarket Securities said that the FY18 remained a tough year for GTR where adverse currency movements and increase in carbon black prices (key raw material along with natural/synthetic rubber) pulled margins down.

Finance cost also more than doubled to Rs257m, from Rs124m, as new debt was acquired to address downstream bottlenecks, raising interest rates.—Equities Correspondent

Tesla shares fall as Musk’s stress takes toll

NEW YORK: Tesla shares are falling as investors deal with another surprising development surrounding CEO Elon Musk.

Musk admitted in an interview with The New York Times that stress is taking a heavy toll on him.

The company has been under pressure to increase production of its Model 3 sedan, and Musk said that he was working up to 120 hours a week and sometimes takes Ambien to get to sleep.

Musk raised a ruckus last week when he tweeted that he might take Tesla private. The tweet reportedly has spurred an investigation by securities regulators.

Tesla shares fell 3.6 per cent to $323 in early trading.

Musk is known for odd behavior and controversial statements, but investors have stuck with him and driven Tesla to a higher market value than General Motors.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2018