National Refinery’s half-year profit down 59 percent

KARACHI: Net profit of National Refinery Limited (NRL) declined 59 percent to Rs1.623 billion for the half-year ended December 31, 2017 translating into EPS of Rs20.30, a bourse filing said on Tuesday.

NRL’s profit amounted to Rs3.96 billion with EPS of Rs49.62 in the half-year ended December 31, 2016, a notice to the PSX said.

The company did not announce any payouts along with the corporate announcement.

The net sales for the half year under review clocked in at Rs61.03 billion as against sales of Rs52.33 billion the previous year.

Attock Cement profit declines 9.5pc

Net profit of Attock Cement Pakistan Limited declined by 9.5 percent to Rs1.247 billion for the half-year ended December 31, 2017, translating into earnings per share (EPS) of Rs10.07, a bourse filing said on Tuesday.

Attock Cement Pakistan’s profit amounted to Rs1.378 billion with EPS of Rs12.03 in the half-year ended December 31, 2016, a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange said. The company did not announce any payouts along with the corporate announcement.

“Increased fuel cost due to rising coal prices kept the company’s profitability in check,” analyst Saqib Hussain at Sherman Securities said.

During the first half of fiscal year 2017/18 sales revenue went up five percent to Rs7.56 billion compared with the revenues of Rs7.22 billion in the same period last year.

Sales surged mainly due to higher cement dispatches, where local dispatches grew by 16 percent while exports declined by 22 percent.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2017, Attock Cement posted a net profit of Rs547.973 million translating into EPS of Rs4.78 as against net profit of Rs687.18 million and EPS of Rs6.0 in the same period the previous year.

Attock Refinery’s profit down 49pc

Attock Refinery Limited’s (AFL) net profit for the first six months of current fiscal year fell 49 percent on a year-on-year basis, a bourse filing showed.

“The refinery posted a net profit of Rs 1.376 billion for the half year ended December 31, 2017, compared to Rs 2.72 billion recorded in the same period last year,” a notice sent to Pakistan Stock Exchange showed. The notice said the AFL earnings per share (EPS) for the period under review was Rs16.14 as against Rs32 for July-December 2016/17 period.

The company did not announce any payouts along with the corporate announcement.

Moreover, the refinery’s sales revenues stood at Rs79.19 billion during the period under review, up 28 percent compared to Rs61.86 billion in the same period last year. Analysts say the decline in the profitability can be attributed to higher cost of sales, which resulted in operational losses to the company.

Honda Atlas posts profit

Net profit of Honda Atlas Cars dropped by 5.1 percent to Rs1.416 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2017 with EPS of Rs9.92, an announcement said. Honda Atlas Car’s profit amounted to Rs1.492 billion with EPS of Rs10.45 in the quarter ended December 31, 2016, a notice to the PSX said. The company did not announce any payouts along with the corporate announcement.

Sales revenues of the company stood at Rs21.79 billion during the period under review, up 38 percent compared with the revenues of Rs15.71 billion in the same period last year.

Analyst Arslan Hanif at Arif Habib Limited said margins dropped to 10.45 percent from 13.9 percent last year. “The decline in margins is attributable to higher steel prices and huge discounts allowed to dealers on sale of BR-V.” Meanwhile, other expenses surged three times to Rs316 million due to higher exchange losses in the period under review given negative movement of rupee and Japanese yen against US dollar.

 International Steels profit surges 98pc

International Steels Limited’s (ISL) on Tuesday reported a 98 percent surge in its net profit for the second quarter of current fiscal year on relatively stronger sales.

“The net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2017 stood at Rs1.178 billion, whereas profit in the same period last year was recorded at Rs594.022 million,” a bourse filing said. The notice said the company’s earnings per share (EPS) clocked in at Rs2.71 compared with Rs1.37 in the same period last year. An interim cash dividend of Rs1.5/share was also declared in the corporate announcement. Analyst said higher sales, recorded at Rs11.48 billion, up 33 percent from Rs8.63 billion in the same period last year, fueled the surge in profitability. For the half-year ended December 31, 2017, the company posted a net profit of Rs2.18 billion translating into an EPS of Rs5.02 as against a profit of Rs1.15 billion and an EPS of Rs2.67 in the corresponding period previous year.