Gharibwal starts its new VRM

Gharibwal Cement Ltd has started commercial operation of its 250tph vertical cement mill at its Ismailwal, plant, Pakistan.

According to Company Secretary, Muhammad Shamail Javed, the new cement mill will help reduce the energy costs of cement grinding, while the excess cement grinding capacity will support future expansion plans. This new cement mill is the single-largest cement grinding mill presently in operation in Pakistan.

Performance in nine months ended 31st March 2018
The company's sales volume increased by 24 per cent YoY to 1.428Mt. However, net sales value increased by two per cent  because of decline in the average selling price and a lack of clinker sales during the current period under review. Cost of production also increased, as a result of the hike in fuel prices and the planned shutdown of kiln for maintenance in July 2017. This caused gross profit to decline by 29 per cent YoY. The company earned profit after tax amounting to PKR1000m (US$8.63m) and earnings per share reported at PKR2.50.

The Ismailwal plant has a capacity of 2.01Mt of clinker and 2.11Mt of cement.