DG Khan Cement 9-mth profit rises to Rs91m, Pakistan

DG Khan Cement 9-mth profit rises to Rs91m, Pakistan
27 April 2004


D G Khan Cement Company Limited almost trebled net profit to Rs 591.3m in the first nine months of the current financial year against Rs 200.62 million in the same period last year, the company said in a statement to the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE).

The company said its net profit in the third quarter (Jan-March) rose to Rs 168.3m from just Rs 24.45m in the same period last year.

Analysts said high cement prices backed by export-led demand helped the company to post a significant rise in profit, which was in line with market expectations.

“The strong prices of cement coupled with high foreign and local demand are supporting the all cement companies,” said Abdul Rasheed, an analyst at Invest Capital and Securities, a local brokerage house.
In the current fiscal year, the company’s sales shot up by 17.6 percent to 2.730bn in the first nine months from Rs 2.319bn in the same period last year. Operating expenses rose 18.8 percent to Rs 67.05m against Rs 56.4m same period last year.

Analysts said in the last few months the company has also been able to rescheduled its expensive debt which helped the company to reduce financial charges to Rs 143.13m from Rs 309.59m during the period under review.

Ali Sibtain, analyst at Elixir Securities, in a report said the current increase in the export prices of cement would be reflected in the fourth quarter as the price increase has materialized towards the end of the third quarter.

Published under Cement News