Attock Cement quarterly profit higher on increased prices, Pakistan

Pakistan-based producer Attock Cement reported a 40 per cent rise in profit during the January-March 2013 quarter, driven by higher prices.

Profit rose to PKR520m (US$5.3m) during the period compared to PKR371m in the corresponding period of 2012. With cement demand subdued during the winter period, the advance was attributed to increased prices. Cement prices averaged PKR438/bag (US$4.45) against PKR402 in the corresponding quarter of 2012. Additionally, federal excise duty was reduced by PKR100/t during to fiscal 2013 to PKR400, which supported the top-line and bottom-line.

Other contributors included cost reduction due to lower coal prices in the international market coupled with new cost efficient plants. International coal prices averaged US$85/t in the period under review against US$105/t during the corresponding preceding quarter, declining by 19 per cent.

Revenue rose nine per cent to PKR3.244bn in the quarter under review against PKR2.98bn in the corresponding quarter of 2012, due to lower local and export dispatches, which were 0.37Mt and 0.13Mt, respectively.

Attock Cement operates a 1.8Mta  factory based in Hub, an industrial suburb of Karachi and the only major industrial town in Balochistan.