[🇵🇰] Pakistan Industries News

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Nishat Mills Limited​

BR Research
January 30, 2024

Nishat Mills Limited (PSX: NML), the flagship company of Nishat Group was established in 1951.

Being one of the largest vertically integrated companies in Pakistan, the company is engaged in spinning, weaving, printing, dyeing, bleaching, and stitching and apparel business. NML deals in yarn, linen, and other products made from raw cotton and synthetic fiber.

The company is also in the business of generating and supplying electricity.

 

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Cement Industries

That construction across the industry is significantly constrained is not quite reflecting in the financial statement of cement companies. Kohat Cement (PSX: KOHC) may be the prime example whose profitability in the latest quarter (Q2) improved 14 percent; up 25 percent in the first quarter of the fiscal year compared to the same period last year. Granted last year, the industry was grappling with the aftermath of floods, reduced development spending and high inflation that caused many private projects to get delayed.

But on the demand front, not a lot has changed. Specially, when it comes to reduced buying power. Though in 1QFY24, the industry reported an increase in domestic demand offtake of 18 percent, by the first half of the fiscal year, local offtake across industry reported a cumulative increase of only 1 percent. Exports in fact, have been making up for much of the lost demand that cement players would ideally be making from home ground.

 

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Engro Fertilizers achieves record urea production in 2023​

The Frontier Post

LAHORE: Engro Fertilizers, Pakistan’s premier seed-to-harvest solutions provider, achieved record urea production of 2.3 million tons in 2023 to support the Government’s efforts of ensuring affordable and abundant supplies for the farmers.

The Company was able to achieve this feat and continued to play a pivotal role towards enabling the food security of Pakistan, amidst the headwinds of tough macroeconomic conditions, imposition of a higher super tax and gas price hikes. Engro Fertilizers was additionally affected by steep Rupee devaluation as its 950,000 tons Base Plant is supplied gas under Petroleum Policy 2012 pricing, which is dollar-pegged due to its linkage with crude oil rate.

According to the latest annual results, Engro Fertilizers urea production surged by 18.3 percent compared to the year 2022 (1.95 million tons) due to improved operational performance of both EnVen and Base Plants. Consequently, the Company’s urea sales witnessed an uptick by 20.3 percent to reach 2.32 million tons, while its market share also increased to 35 percent.

“The local fertilizer industry has ensured that farmers continue to benefit from lower domestic urea prices. The Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of urea stood at PKR 3,596/bag at year end, at a discount of 40 percent to international prices. This delta constitutes a contribution of approximately PKR 330 billion per annum towards farmer income in Pakistan,” said a Company statement. The industry is also engaging dealers to support Government’s initiatives to curb urea hoarding for market price manipulation, bolstering crop productivity, and farmer profitability.

In 2023, the robust domestic urea manufacturing industry enabled import substitution to the tune of USD 2.3 billion, including Engro Fertilizers’ share of USD 835 million. Further, in 2023, the Company contributed nearly PKR 34.7 billion towards the national exchequer by way of Government taxes, duties, and levies, compared to PKR 11.6 billion last year.

On a consolidated basis, Engro Fertilizers posted a profit after tax of PKR 26.2 billion with earnings per share (EPS) of PKR 19.61 in 2023, mainly on the back of increased production from long-term reliability projects, cost optimization, efficient working capital management and higher interest income.

To sustain domestic urea production levels and safeguard the food security of Pakistan, Engro Fertilizers and other major fertilizer manufacturers are investing heavily in Gas Pressure Enhancement Facilities (PEF) project. The expected share of Engro Fertilizers’ capital expenditure in this project is over USD 100 million.

 

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[H2]Attock Cement completes expansion of production capacity by 1.28mn tons[/H2]
Attock Cement Pakistan Limited (ACPL), a subsidiary of Pharaon Investment Group Limited Holding S.A.L, Lebanon, said it has completed its construction and installation work of expanding its capacity by 1.28 million tons as its new production line becomes operational.

The company, engaged in the manufacturing and sale of cement, shared the development in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday.

"We are pleased to inform that construction and installation work with respect to the additional line of 1,275,000 tons cement per annum at our manufacturing site at Hub, Balochistan has been successfully completed," read the notice.

The company shared that the new line is operational and production has commenced with effect from April 16, 2024.

Incorporated in Pakistan as a public limited company in 1981, ACPL has succeeded in exporting a huge quality of clinker and cement both in bags and bulk to the UAE, South Africa, Iraq, Sri Lanka, and many other countries.

The company also has the facility of supplying cement in bulk besides producing low-alkali cement for some of its markets.

Attock Cement Pakistan Limited

As per the company's latest financial results, the net sales revenue of APCL, during the first half of fiscal year 2023-2024, increased by Rs4.3 billion (41%) over the corresponding period, clocking in at Rs14.64 billion.

During the period under review, production cost per ton decreased by Rs195 per ton (2%) as global coal prices showed some weaknesses and it helped the company reduce its fuel cost, the company shared.

However, the said reduction was completely offset by a massive increase in power tariff and other inflationary increases in raw materials, transportation, and other ancillary costs, it added.