Bestway Cement earns Rs 12.64 billion profit before tax in nine months

The Board of Directors at Bestway Cement Limited announced financial results for nine months to March, 2016. Bestway’s turnover on a consolidated basis soared by more than 49% percent from Rs. 22.03 billion to Rs. 32.91 billion. This was largely due to acquisition of Pakcem Limited and increase in domestic demand.

Increase in turnover was somewhat subdued by shrinking export volumes and a decline in retention prices during the period. Gross margin of Rs. 14.39 billion grew by more than 68% percent over the same period last year.

Profit before tax for nine months amounted to Rs. 12.64 billion, depicting an increase of 45% as compared to Rs. 8.69 billion during the nine months ended 31 March, 2015. The company’s consolidated profit after tax also registered a growth of more than 48% to reach Rs. 9.24 billion in the period under review against Rs. 6.22 billion from the corresponding period of last financial year.

On a consolidated basis, domestic sales volume increased by 17% from 3.764 million tonnes to 4.301 million tonnes, while exports saw a decline of 7% from 0.702 million tonnes to 0.649 million tonnes in the nine months period. Overall, cement dispatches increased by 11% during the reporting period to 4.955 million tonnes from 4.468 million tonnes.

Despite fierce competition, Bestway was able to maintain its market share in the north zone and retained its position as the largest exporters of cement to Afghanistan and India.

On a consolidated basis earnings per share for Bestway Cement stood at Rs. 15.64 against Rs 10.74 from the corresponding period. The company announced an interim dividend of Rs. 2.50 per share keeping in view its excellent performance.

During the period, Bestway Cement embarked upon further reducing its reliance on the national grid by taking energy-saving initiatives and launched a 12MW waste heat recovery power plants at its Pakcem Kallar Kahar operations. The implementation of this project, which is expected to cost $15 million, will not only support in alleviating the country’s power crisis to a certain extent, but also reduce cost of production whilst generating clean, affordable energy.

The shareholders of Bestway Cement Limited and Pakcem Limited in their respective Extraordinary General Meetings held on 4 May, 2016 approved a scheme of amalgamation of Pakcem Limited into Bestway Cement Limited. Bestway Cement currently owns 88.37% shares in Pakcem. Both companies are in the Business of manufacture and sale of cement.

The companies are under common management and the management believes that merger of the companies should result in efficiencies and economies of scale in the merged entity. The Boards of the two companies are of the opinion that the merger will be particularly beneficial for the minority shareholders of Pakcem Limited.

Bestway brands are synonymous with quality in international markets and the company continues to explore all opportunities for expanding its presence in regional and international markets. With a total cement capacity of over 8 million tonnes per annum, Bestway continues to be the leader and a pioneer in the cement industry focused on reducing environmental impact and contributing to the country’s power generation.

Add Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.