KARACHI: Attock Cement Pakistan Limited (ACPL) has reported net earnings of Rs691 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2016-17 (1QFY17), up 44% compared with Rs481 million in the same quarter last year, according to a company report sent to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday.
Earnings per share (EPS) of the company increased to Rs6.03 compared with an EPS of Rs4.20 in the period under review.
The growth in earnings was primarily driven by a 17% year-on-year increase in volumes amid growth in dispatches and 690 basis points (bps) expansion in margins following year-on-year lower fuel and power costs, according to a BMA report.
However, on a sequential basis, the earnings were down 13% quarter-on-quarter in the period following a quarter-on-quarter margins attrition of 3.3 percentage points (pps) due to reversal in coal and power prices and 7% quarter-on-quarter decline in revenue due to seasonal slowdown in dispatches.
On the Pakistan Stock Exchange, investors eagerly rushed in to buy ACPL stocks after better-than-expected results with the share price increasing Rs3.70 to close at Rs251.43 on Thursday. However, excitement was witnessed in the bourse in general with benchmark KSE-100 index rising 1.52%.
