The top management of Bestway Cement Ltd organised a corporate briefing earlier this month to discuss the company's 1QFY22-23 results and outlook.
The company's CFO, Muhammad Amir Khan, and Head of Budgeting, Treasury and Reporting, Muhammad Danish Khan, of Bestway Cement Ltd announced that the start of commercial operation of 7200tpd clinker line at the Minawali location is expected in December 2022 and the 7200tpd clinker line in Hattar II will start up in March 2023. The post-expansion capacity will stand at 15.2Mta. The new capacities in the pipeline will intensify the competition and further impact the industry’s profitability.
Additional solar capacity of 54MW at all plants is to be energised by April 2023, which will increase its total capacity to 111MW. Solar power generation has further reduced the company’s reliance on the national grid. Moreover, it has enabled the company to reduce its carbon footprint by more than 3.5Mt of CO2 emissions over the project’s life, equal to a plantation of approximately 5.5m trees.
Bestway Cement recorded a gross turnover of PKR25.4bn (US$113m) in the quarter that ended 30 September 2022, 14 per cent higher than PKR22.3bn during the same quarter last year. Net turnover for the quarter increased by 21 per cent, from PKR15.4bn to PKR18.6bn. Higher revenue was driven by increased selling prices necessitated by increased input costs. Financial charges increased to PKR0.9bn for the quarter as against PKR0.3bn for the same quarter of last year. This increase is due to increased working capital requirements, higher interest rates and borrowings for new projects. Profit after taxation for the quarter amounted to PKR3.3bn compared to PKR3bn for the same quarter of last year.
Cement production stood at 1.441Mt (24 per cent less than 1QFY21-22). Despite fierce competition, Bestway successfully retained its position as one of the country’s largest cement producers and the market leader.
