Pakistan’s Cherat Cement Co to raise production capacity

Cherat Cement Company Ltd (CCCL) of Pakistan plans to increase production capacity at its 2500tpd cement plant, situated 52km from Peshawar near Nowshera in northern Pakistan. The company is expected to hold negotiations with various cement plant suppliers in due course.

At present, the works is operating near full capacity and with the expected growth in the domestic cement market, the company’s Board has decided to raise capacity at the works. Furthermore, its strategic location close to the Afghan border is expected to put CCCL in a good position for exports to this country.

CCCL has also embarked on a refuse-derived fuel project, using municipal solid waste to substitute part of the coal in the plant’s fuel mix.  

In the financial year ended 30 June 2013, the company posted a record after-tax profit of PKR1.22bn (US$11.8m), a massive 180 per cent YoY increase from PKR436.8m. Sales advanced from PKR5.457bn to PKR6.294bn. Domestic sales expanded by four per cent but the decline in export demand and the influx of cheap Iranian cement in Afghanistan pushed export sales down by nearly nine per cent.

In terms of clinker production, output rose by around seven per cent in the year as the company was carrying higher clinker stock levels in FY2012, unlike this year. However, cement production fell one per cent over the same period.