KARACHI: D.G. Khan Cement (DGKC) reported a profit after tax of Rs2.83 billion for July-September, up 48.7 per cent from a year ago.

Sales amounted to Rs7.53bn, registering an increase of 14pc from Rs6.6bn last year.

Topline Securities analyst Nabeel Khursheed said better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter of 2017-18 were due to a huge tax credit that the company enjoyed as a result of investment in a new cement line located in Hub. DGKC did not book any corporate tax owing to the tax adjustment under the depreciation allowance on its new Hub line. The plant is expected to be operational in the current fiscal year.

Arif Habib Ltd analyst Tahir Abbas commented that the company’s turnover depicted a jump mainly because of robust growth in cement despatches.

Gross margins dropped nine percentage points during the quarter to 35pc in contrast to 44pc a year ago due to higher coal prices. The average coal price went up 33pc annually in the period under review.

A 20pc jump to Rs89 million in finance costs was also observed in the three-month period.

ENGRO POLYMER AND CHEMICALS: The company announced a profit after tax of Rs1.95bn for the nine-month period ending on Sept 30, up 61 times from a year ago.

The board of directors also declared an interim cash dividend of Rs0.45 per share, first payout after a gap of 10 years. The company’s revenue during the nine months grew 23pc to Rs20.39bn because of higher demand for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin. The company stated in a note that it achieved the highest-ever PVC and vinyl chloride monomer production in any three- or nine-month period.

Analyst Rafia Hanif of BMA Capital said that the top line of the company surged because of 13.5pc annual jump in the PVC price to $902 per tonne. Financial charges plunged 14pc on an annual basis in the nine months as the company restructured its long-term debt.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2017