Cherat Cement six-month profit rises 17% YoY, Pakistan

Pakistan-based producer Cherat Cement posted a profit after tax of PKR710m (US$6.74m) in the six months to the end of December 2013. This translates into a rise of 17 per cent YoY despite a drop in exports.

On a quarterly basis, the company recorded a profit of PKR437m compared to PKR339m in the corresponding period of last year.

In FY12-13, Cherat posted a record profit of PKR1.22bn, up 181 per cent from PKR435m in the previous fiscal.

Cherat Cement operates 1.1Mta of cement capacity from its plant situated near Nowshera, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, bordering the Cherat Hills. This gives it an edge in exporting to Pakistan’s two major markets of Afghanistan and India.

However, like other domestic producers based in the north of the country, the company has witnessed a fall in export volumes to these two major markets. Exports to Afghanistan have been declining as Nato forces begin to withdraw from the country. Meanwhile, cement exports from Iran have heightened competiton. A slowdown in the Indian economy coupled with non-tariff barriers has also led to reduced exports to India.