KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange Ltd (PSXL) posted a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs71 million for the half year ended Dec 31, 2017, down 34 per cent from Rs108m in the corresponding period last year.

The earnings per share decreased to Rs0.09 from Rs0.13. An interim dividend of Rs0.05 per share was also declared. For the second quarter, the company incurred a loss of Rs8.4m in contrast to PAT of Rs76m in the same quarter last year. Huge decline in revenues from the ‘listing fee’ and ‘income from exchange operations’ together with increase in ‘taxation’ dented PSX’s profitability.

General Tyre earnings dip: The company posted PAT for 1HFY18 at Rs427m (EPS: Rs7.14), reflecting a decrease of 24pc over PAT at Rs563m (EPS: Rs9.42) in the first half of last year. The revenues rose 24pc to Rs5.851bn, from Rs4.699bn. For the quarter ended Dec 31, 2017, the tyre producer earned PAT at Rs174m, down 47pc year-on-year from Rs328m.

Kot Addu earnings soar: The power producer posted a profit of Rs2.214 billion (EPS: Rs2.52) for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2017, up 19pc over Rs1.853bn (EPS: Rs2.11) in the corresponding quarter last year.

The board declared an interim cash dividend of Rs4.35. For the half year, the profit grew 5pc year-on-year to Rs4.395bn from Rs4.172bn.

Nishat Mills profit surges: The entity posted PAT at Rs2.59bn (EPS: Rs6.27) for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2017, growing by 43pc year-on-year over Rs1.81bn (EPS: Rs4.26). The second quarter revenue amounted to Rs20.146bn, representing a growth of 4.7pc from Rs19.231bn. For 1HFY18, PAT stood at Rs4.668bn (EPS: Rs10.97), higher by 23pc over PAT at Rs3.782bn (EPS: Rs8.84) in the same period of 2016.

Indus profits rise 21pc: Indus Motor Company posted PAT at Rs7.36bn (EPS: Rs93.69) for 1HFY18, up 21pc versus Rs6.07bn (EPS: Rs77.28) in the same period last year. Sales revenue rose to Rs63.3bn from Rs51.4bn for the same period last year.

The increase in revenues and profits is mainly due to the higher turnover of both CKD and CBU vehicles, along with improvements in operational efficiencies and sales mix.

The company also announced an interim cash dividend of Rs32.5 per share for 2QFY18.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2018