KARACHI: DG Khan Cement Company Ltd told shareholders on Friday its unconsolidated profit for the October-December quarter was Rs1.27 billion, up 10.1 per cent from a year ago.

A stock filing showed the cement maker’s quarterly revenue jumped 43pc year-on-year to Rs16.3bn because of better retention prices. The company didn’t declare any payout for the period.

“The result is above our expectations due to better-than-anticipated gross margins,” said a note by Insight Securities. The gross margin for the quarter under review clocked in at 16.9pc versus 21.2pc a year ago.

Other income of the cement company increased 2.6 times on a yearly basis. The surge was because of the lower base effect as a moratorium on the dividend by MCB Bank (associate company) was in place during same quarter a year ago.

The effective tax rate was 24.6pc versus 16.3pc in the same period of last year.

The company’s share price increased 0.28pc to Rs75.59 on the stock exchange.

Bank of Punjab income increases

Bank of Punjab Ltd posted earnings of Rs3.57bn for October-December, which was 222pc higher than the quarterly profit recorded a year ago, a regulatory filing said on Friday.

According to Topline Securities, earnings remained better than market expectations owing to a reversal in provisions to the tune of Rs1.7bn in the three-month period.

The bank skipped cash dividend and announced a bonus issue of 12.5pc. The bank recently told investors it was exploring the possibility of acquiring a strategic stake in NRSP Microfinance Bank. “It is likely that the bank may have skipped the cash dividend keeping this in consideration,” the brokerage said.

Net interest income increased 27pc year-on-year to Rs8bn. Total provision reversals for the quarter clocked in at Rs1.75bn against a charge of Rs1bn in the year-ago period.

Its share price dropped 1.2pc to Rs8.26.

Standard Chartered earnings inch up

Annual earnings of Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan Ltd increased 4.5pc to Rs13.7bn in 2021, a stock notice showed on Friday.

The bank announced a dividend of Rs1.75 per share, which is in addition to Rs1.25 interim dividend already paid during 2021.

Its revenue dropped 8.6pc to Rs37.4bn due to a “sharp reduction in interest rates” as well as market volatility, a bank statement said.

The bank’s share price dropped 0.45pc to Rs30.86 on the stock exchange.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2022