KARACHI: Attock Cement Pakistan Ltd posted unconsolidated earnings of Rs578 million for the Oct-Dec quarter, up 37 per cent from a year ago, a stock filing showed on Monday.

The result was above market expectations mainly because of a dividend from its subsidiary Saqr Al Keetan, a research note by Insight Securities said.

Quarterly revenue declined 7pc year-on-year but went up 22pc from the preceding quarter to reach Rs5.4 billion. The brokerage attributed the annual decline in the top line to a 30pc reduction in total despatches wherein exports went down 54pc.

The gross margin also dropped 8.9 percentage points on a yearly basis to clock in at 20pc due to higher coal prices. However, it registered an increase of 110 basis points on a quarterly basis, thanks to higher domestic sales.

Its share price decreased 0.86pc to Rs134.82 on the stock exchange.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2022