British-Pakistani businessman Lord Zameer Choudrey has formally taken his seat in the House of Lords with a pledge to use his position to work towards improving trade relations between Pakistan and the UK.
 
As the Chief Executive of Bestway Group, Lord Choudrey manages Bestway Cement Ltd, United Bank Ltd and MAP Rice Mills, aside from owning Bestway Wholesale in the UK, Well Pharmacy, real estate investments, and a string of retail outlets, plus ethnic food and beverage import and distribution.
 
Financial results FY18-19
The company recorded gross turnover of PKR79bn (US$505.6m) in the year ended 30 June 2019, two per cent higher compared to PKR77.1bn during the last year. However, net turnover for the year grew by just one per cent from PKR52.9bn to PKR53.6bn.
 
Gross profit for the year declined by 15 per cent to PKR16bn. Despite higher selling prices during the year, gross margins were adversely impacted by increasing input costs. Financial charges stood at PKR1.5bn for the year as against PKR0.6bn for the last year. This increase was driven primarily by financial charges incurred on borrowings for setting up of Farooqia Line-II and a persistent upward trend in interest rates.
 
Profit before tax amounted to PKR13.2bn, 11 per cent lower as compared to PKR15bn for the year ended 30 June 2018. Profit after taxation also declined by 23 per cent from PKR13.2bn to PKR10.1bn.
 
Bestway's cement production stood at 8.104Mt against 8.562Mt in previous year, recording a fall of five per cent YoY.