Power Cement to become No 2 in south Pakistan

Power Cement Ltd (PCL) is set to complete the brownfield expansion at its existing production site by adding a new line of 7700tpd (2.5Mta), taking the plant’s total capacity to around 3.4Mta. The project is currently in its testing phase and commissioning will start in 2020. Once online, the project will make the company the second-largest cement producer in southern Pakistan.

The expansion project is meets IFC and World Bank environmental standards and is one of the most cost-efficient cement production facilities in the south of the country. Going forward, PCL also has plans to undertake energy conservation solutions for cost optimisation.

Company financial results
During the year under review, the dispatches of PCL registered an increase of nearly one per cent, achieving a volume of 665,915t as compared to 659,546t in the previous financial year. However, the production of cement decreased by 76,055t, whereas clinker decreased by 53,368t. As a result, the company's capacity utilisation stood at 67 per cent as compared to 73 per cent in comparison of the last financial year.

PCL earned a net profit of PKR582m (US$3.364m) in FY18-19 compared to PKR320m in corresponding period of last year, despite of having operating losses. The company attributed it as to lower dispatches, deep currency devaluation, steep interest rates rise and inflation, thus profitability of PCL suffered a marked suppression – though due to recognition of tax credit available on installation of its new projects, the company managed to score a positive bottom line.