Kohat Cement’s profit falls 20 percent

KARACHI: Profit of Kohat Cement Company Limited slid 20 percent to Rs3.54 billion for the year ended June 30, 2017, translating into earnings per share (EPS) of Rs22.94, a bourse filing said on Monday. 

Kohat Cement registered a profit of Rs4.41 billion for the financial year of 2015/16 with EPS of Rs28.53, a notice to Pakistan Stock Exchange said. The cement maker announced a final cash dividend of Rs2 per share for the year ended June 30 in addition to first interim cash dividend of Rs4 and second interim cash dividend of Rs8 already paid to the shareholders. The company’s revenue fell 3.4 percent to Rs13.54 billion in FY2017.

Analyst Fatima Mohsin Ali at Taurus Securities Limited said gross margins were down to 43 percent during the period under review on the back of surge in fuel costs as coal prices rose 45 percent.

Ali said Kohat Cement’s revenue decreased 18 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to Rs2.8 billion due to decline in sales. "Effective tax rate was 55 percent in 4QFY17 due to super tax provision, translating into an effective tax rate of 37 percent for FY17, further denting the bottom-line,” she added.