Lucky Cement invested PKR100bn in the last few years

Lucky Cement (Yunus Brothers Group) has invested over PKR100bn (US$325.3m) in the past 4-5 years, which includes PKR30bn in Lucky Electric Power Co (LEPCL), PKR50bn in cement operations and PKR15bn in auto segments. A top official of Lucky Cement shared this information during last week's corporate briefing.  

It is important to note here that during FY22-23, company profitability was down due to cement demand contraction and the imposition of super tax. Its local cement volumes were down 15 per cent YoY in FY22-23. However, the addition of a new line at Pezu with a capacity of 3Mta protected market share to some extent, Topline Pakistan Research reported.

Moving forward, for FY23-24, management initially estimated a 5-10 per cent decline in its local cement sales. However, due to lower rains in northern areas of the country, management now expects the decline may be lower than earlier estimates.

Export
Exports declined as the cost of production remained high during 4QFY22-23. Currently, export prices are viable but not attractive. The key export destinations were Africa, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. The company is exploring new avenues for exports. However, a significant increase in production cost has impacted exports' viability.

Renewable energy
The company has invested in renewable energy to PKR4bn to install a 34MW solar plant at the North site and an equal amount invested to install a 25MW solar plant at the South site. The reason behind the higher cost and lower MW is PKR devaluation.