For the quarter that ended 30 September 2023, Pakistan’s Dandot Cement Co Ltd incurred a loss of PKR69m (US$0.24m) as it remained under the modernisation phase and posted no revenue during the accounting period. No sales were reported.
Dandot Cement Chairman, Muhammad Farooq Naseem, and CEO, Taha Muhammad Naseem, have optimistically reported that the company plans to come into production before the end of the calendar year 2023 with an emphasis on the balancing modernisation of replacements (BMR) to improve the thermal efficiency and achieve the targeted environment control standards.
According to a report released on 7 November, the civil works have been completed, and mechanical erection works and PLC works are being met. The company has also installed a 5MW solar plant on a power purchase deal to mitigate the rising electricity costs. Dandot Cement is exploring options to increase the solar capacity to 10MW. After the BMR, the company will achieve consistent production with optimised costs and a reliable and durable product.
To meet the legal standards and to avoid any adverse action from the Environmental Department, Dandot Cement decided to close down its operations during the financial year 2019-20 and move towards upgrading it through BMR. For this purpose, the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Tianjin Cement Industry Design and Research Institute Company Ltd (TCDRI) from China.
The revised total financial outlay of the BMR has been estimated at PKR6.74bn, including UD$14.45 m for the import of new machinery and equipment. Hopefully, the company will complete BMR activities within its timelines and resume its commercial operations in the second quarter of the financial year 2023-24. Hence, the company’s management is fully confident that Dandot Cement will continue its operations as a going concern.
