Engro Food’s profitability surges

KARACHI: Engro Foods (EFOODS) on Monday reported a net profit of Rs1.068 billion, translating into the earning per share (EPS) of Rs1.39 for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, beating market consensus estimates.
The profitability surged by 462 percent as compared to a profit of Rs190.079 million and EPS of 25 paisas for the quarter ended March 31, 2014.
Nabeel Khurshid at Topline Securities said this was on account of realignment of its distribution channels, which led to increase in its UHT (Ultra High Temperature) market share and improvement in gross margins due to the low cost impact.
During 1Q2015, EFOODS’s revenues increased by 24 percent to Rs12.576 billion. To recall, EFOODS was facing distribution network issues due to which the company’s sales growth remained dull since 2013.
“EFOODS’s gross margins increased 700bps to 27 percent in 1Q2015. This was mainly due to weak global oil prices that resulted in lower cost of production. To highlight, EFOODS uses imported formula milk powder for preparation of its UHT dairy and ice cream products.”
“Lower international oil prices and supply glut of milk in the international market resulted in whole sale milk powder prices to decline by 42 percent to $2,819/ton in 1Q2015 as per the data revealed by Global Dairy Trade (GDT),” Nabeel said.
Although financial charges of the company increased four percent to Rs267 million, improvement in the company’s operating profit by 237 percent to Rs1.8 billion resulted in interest coverage ratio to improve.
Moreover, decline in admin expenses by 19 percent to Rs326 million also supported the company’s operations.
Cherat Cement posts profits of Rs298.32mln

Cherat Cement has announced a net profit of Rs298.32 million, translating into the earnings per share (EPS) of Rs1.92 for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, a company statement said on Monday.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs325.237 million and the EPS of Rs2.37 in the same period last year, it said.
The sales revenue for the period stood at Rs1.415 billion against Rs1.529 billion for the corresponding quarter last year.
For the nine-month period ended March 31, 2015, Cherat Cement posted a net profit of Rs938.214 million and the EPS of Rs6.04 as compared to the profit of Rs1.035 billion and the EPS of Rs7.55 in the same period last year.
The company did not announce any payouts along with the financial statement, it added.
Nishat Chunian to issue 20pc right shares
Nishat (Chunian) Limited plans to issue 20 percent right shares at Rs25 per share, including premium of Rs15 per share along with the financial results of the company, a company statement said.
Nishat Chunian has announced a net profit of Rs207.034 million, translating into the earnings per share (EPS) of Rs1.03 for the quarter ended March 31, 2015.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs78.367 million and the EPS of 39 paisas in the same period last year.
The sales revenue for the period stood at Rs6.111 billion against Rs6.616 billion for the corresponding quarter last year.
For the nine-month period ended March 31, 2015, Cherat Cement posted a net profit of Rs532.533 million and the EPS of Rs2.66 as compared to the profit of Rs1.345 billion and the EPS of Rs6.72 in the same period last year.
According to a bourse filing, the funds generated from the right issue will be utilised to repay borrowings, which were utilised for investment in NC Electric Company Ltd, a subsidiary company, established for coal-based power generation.