Briefs

HCAR’s profit doubles in Q2 

By our correspondent

KARACHI: Profit of Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Limited (HCAR) rose 103 percent to Rs1.47 billion for the quarter ended Sept 30, translating into earnings per share (EPS) of Rs10.32, a bourse filing said on Tuesday. 

Honda Atlas Cars’ profit amounted to Rs726.08 million in the same quarter a year earlier with EPS of Rs5.08. The company’s sales increased 60 percent to Rs15.48 billion. Cost of sales also rose to Rs12.97 billion from Rs8.32 billion.

HCAR posted a gross profit of Rs2.50 billion in the July-Sept. period as compared to Rs1.32 billion in the corresponding period.

Other income rose to Rs225.96 million from Rs57.289 million. In the Apr-Sept. period, HCAR posted a net profit of Rs2.52 billion, up 40 percent over the last year. An equity analyst said a huge increase in sales was due to introduction of Civic a few months back.

 

Textile ministry starts SMS service  

ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Textile Industry has started short messaging service (SMS) for cotton growers to update them about the crop and to create awareness about different diseases and pest attacks on the major cash crop of the country.

Tele Cotton Service could be subscribed from dialling the number and providing the name, national identity card number, and name of the area, Dr Khalid Abdullah, cotton commissioner, Ministry of Textile Industry said on Tuesday.

Talking to APP, he said that farmers across the country could activate the service without any subscription charges by just dialling 0334-112-123 from their cell phones.

It would update the farmers and create awareness about the cotton crop, including daily prices of the commodity in local as well as international markets, insect attacks on the crop, and pest management.

The initiative would help cotton growers in management practices to enhance per acre output and minimise cost of inputs. “The Ministry of Textile Industry is also starting offseason training programme for farmers to eliminate the white fly and pink ball warm from the cotton plants and wood stocked for cooking and other purposes.”

 

NBP disburses Rs9bln under PMYBL

By our correspondent

KARACHI: The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has so far disbursed almost nine billion rupees to more than 9,000 customers under the Prime Minister’s youth business loans (PMYBL) scheme.

“Out of 77,000 applications received so far, approximately 62,500 were submitted by walk-in customers,” the bank said in a statement on Tuesday.  In 2013, the government launched the PMYBL program to promote entrepreneurship. A number of banks is currently participating in the scheme.

The NBP said initially a backlog was created due to a raft of applications.  “The delays related to disbursements were largely because customers took their time to complete formalities, arrange guarantors and deposit equity,” it added. “But, loans of customers who completed their formalities quickly loans were disbursed within normal turnaround time.” The NBP said its PMYBL portfolio is healthy as compared to small and medium enterprise’s non-performing loan ratio of 27 percent prevalent for the banking industry. 

 

BoC ready for London listing

Nicosia: Bank of Cyprus, the east Mediterranean island's largest lender, said on Tuesday it would apply for a listing on the London Stock Exchange as part of its restructuring drive.

"We are delighted to be applying for a listing on the London Stock Exchange, which marks another significant step in the bank´s transformation," said BoC chairman Josef Ackermann in a statement.

"We believe that the bank, and its stakeholders, will benefit from the greater profile, liquidity and access to capital that a London listing offers."  Ackermann said the listing would enhance the group´s ability to play a key role in supporting the Cyprus economy´s growth.

The bank said it still intends to maintain a listing on the Cyprus exchange but will no longer be listed in Athens. "The London listing is in line with the bank´s long-term strategic commitment to list on a major European stock exchange," a BoC statement said.

 

 German growth hits speed bump

Frankfurt: German economic growth slowed more sharply than expected in the third quarter, official data showed Tuesday, but analysts see Europe´s largest economy bouncing back at year´s end.

Gross domestic product grew by 0.2 percent compared with the second quarter, adjusting for price, seasonal and calendar effects, the federal statistics office Destatis said in provisional figures.  Analysts surveyed by Factset had forecast growth of 0.3 percent between July and September, after the economy expanded by 0.4 percent in the second quarter and 0.7 in the first.

Slower third-quarter growth "points towards a bump in the road but not to a turning towards general and longer lasting weakness," Unicredit economist Andreas Rees wrote. Most of the growth was driven by domestic consumption, Destatis said, with rises in both household and public spending.

       

UK inflation slips unexpectedly

LONDON: British inflation slipped unexpectedly last month but factory gate prices shot up at the fastest pace in years after sterling's Brexit slump, spelling higher prices for consumers in the year ahead.

Consumer prices rose 0.9 percent compared with a year ago, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday, below economists' expectation for a 1.1 percent annual rise.

But prices for goods leaving factories rose by 2.1 percent, faster than expected and the biggest increase since April 2012. Costs faced by producers for raw material and oil showed a record monthly jump in October, leaping by 4.6 percent.

"After initially pushing up the prices of raw materials, the recent fall in the value of the pound is now starting to boost the price of goods leaving factories as well," ONS statistician Mike Prestwood said.