Indus Motor announces financial results
KARACHI (PR): The Quarterly Board Meeting of Indus Motor Company Ltd. for the quarter and nine months ended 31st March FY 2017-18 was held Friday.
The combined sales of IMC CKD and CBU for the nine months ended March 31, 2018 clocked 47,103 units, up 2% over 46,216 units for the same period last year. The market share stood at 22% for the nine months period.
The Company's net sales turnover for the nine months ended March 31, 2018 increased by 19% to Rs. 100.2 billion as compared to Rs. 84.3 billion for the same period last year, while profit after tax increased by 14% to Rs. 11.6 billion as against Rs. 10.2 billion achieved for the same period last year.
Commenting on the performance, Mr. Ali Asghar Jamali, CEO, Indus Motor Company, said that the increase in revenues and net profit against last year same period was mainly attributable to improved turnover of both CKD and CBU vehicles on account of minor model changes of all major vehicles during the year and improvement in operation efficiencies and sales mix.
He also said that demand momentum for automobiles remained strong throughout the period, due to rising disposable incomes, availability of reasonably priced auto financing and growth in ride hailing services. On a nine months basis, the sales of locally manufactured PCs and LCVs witnessed an increase of 23% to 198,176 units compared to 161,692 units sold during the same period last year.
The Board of Directors declared third interim cash dividend of 325% i.e. Rs. 32.5 per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 which, on cumulative basis, adds up to 950% i.e. Rs. 95 per share for the nine months ended March 31, 2018 compared to 800% i.e. Rs. 80 per share for the same period last year.
In February 2018, Toyota Hilux was launched with significant improvements and with advanced features aimed at luxury and a superior off-road performance. In March 2018, Toyota Fortuner underwent a minor model change with futuristic styling and cutting-edge features and another variant of diesel engine with high performance was launched.
Altern Energy & Descon Power hold function
LAHORE (PR): Altern Energy Limited (AEL) and Descon Power Solutions (DPS) held their Annual Employee Function with all employees at the Altern Energy plant in Fateh Jang.
In attendance for the event were the Senior Management Team from the Head Office, including the CEO, Head HR, DGM Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Wind & Solar, Head Quality, Environmental, Occupational Health & Safety (QEHS),among others. The event began with presentations from the plant team on both improvement plans for the plant and the QEHS activities held there during the past year followed by lunch.
After lunch, a number of activities took place between the teams in attendance. These included a friendly cricket match between the AEL and DPS Head Office Teams and a tug of war competition between the Operations & Maintenance Teams.
The event concluded with a prize distribution ceremony, musical evening and dinner. The purpose of the event was to reinforce organization's culture and deepen the staff's ties to both the company and each other while removing barriers between the various departments and teams.
SKH Memorial Trust registered in Oslo, Norway
LAHORE (PR): Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust achieved another milestone by receiving legal status of a charitable organization from Norwegian authorities.
Friends of Shaukat Khanum in Scandinavia (FSKS) are now registered with the Brønnøysund Register Centre, Norway. After this registration, donations of people from Norway are now tax deductible to the extent permitted by Norwegian Law.
Over the last two decades, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Center (SKMCH&RC) has established its reputation across the globe as one of the most credible institutions of Pakistan. Over 75% of cancer patients receive free treatment at SKMCH&RC in Lahore and Peshawar.
The registration will help the hospital in collecting funds to equip its projects with state-of- the-art cancer treatment technology and to provide free cancer treatment to even more people across Pakistan. Details of the Norway office can be found at the Shaukat Khanum Website www.shaukatkhanum.org.pk
HBL declares profit after tax of Rs4.7b
KARACHI (PR): HBL declared a profit after tax of Rs 4.7 billion, with earnings per share for Q1 17 at Rs 3.12. Along with the results, the Board declared a dividend of Rs 1.00 per share (10%). Profit before tax was Rs 7.4 billion for the first quarter of 2018. The consolidated Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) as at March 31, 2018 increased to 16.5% with the Tier 1 CAR at 12.3%.
HBL's core domestic business remains strong, with steady growth and improvement in key drivers. Total domestic deposits increased by 3%, crossing Rs. 1.8 trillion and increasing market share to 14.4%. The bulk of the growth came from CASA deposits as a result of which, the CASA ratio improved to 86.5% as at March 31, 2018. The domestic loan book increased by Rs 26 billion during the quarter with the ADR rising to nearly 43%.
Average domestic loans grew by 29%, with positive contributions from all business segments and average domestic current accounts for the first quarter of 2018 increased by Rs 86 billion over Q1 17.
However, with continued margin compression and reduction in the international balance sheet from the Bank's de-risking exercise, overall net interest income declined slightly compared to Q1 17, by 0.8% to Rs 20.0 billion. With a steady stream of recoveries, total provisions for the quarter recorded a reversal of Rs 111 million compared to a charge of Rs 359 million in Q1 17. The NPL coverage ratio remains strong at 90.5%.
HBL widened its reach further during the quarter, adding over 300,000 customers and expanding its contact points with the addition of new ATMs and POS terminals. The Bank now reaches customers through over 1,700 branches, 2,044 ATMs and nearly 18,600 POS machines across Pakistan.
Engro Foods wins Commonwealth Award
KARACHI (PR): Engro Foods from Pakistan has been awarded the Commonwealth Company of the Year Award from the Commonwealth Businesswomen's Network. The award recognises a company that has had a significant impact on women's economic empowerment in the organisation and the wider community. The Award was made during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London in consultation with an Advisory Panel.
The Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting (CHOGM) was held in London, where Queen Elizabeth& UK Government hosted Presidents and Prime Ministers of 53 Commonwealth statesto promote bilateral trade and implement sustainable development goals amongst all the Commonwealth states. Besides CHOGM, sessions on Commonwealth Business Forums and the Commonwealth Women Forum were also conducted, where 5000+ delegates from 53 countries participated.
These events were followed by Commonwealth Business Women Network awards.
Engro Foods represented Pakistan at the Commonwealth Business forums. Nageen Rizvi, Head of Corporate Communications & Sustainability, Engro Foods presented a case on project WELD - Women Empowerment through Livestock Development to the Commonwealth Business Women Network which won the award for Engro Foods.
This project was started by Engro Foods Limited to strengthen the socio-economic landscape of the dairy industry of Pakistan. It enabled the Pakistani rural women by training them with best dairy practices and created economic opportunities for homebound women by converting them into dairy farmers. This project created 18000+ dairy farmers, 600 Female Micro Businesses, 300 Female Livestock Extension Entrepreneurs and 300 Female Village Milk Collectors.
A hurriedly prepared budget
LAHORE (PR): "This is a budget with some realistic, some fanciful numbers, and more than a dash of electioneering." This was stated in the review of the budget 2018-19 by the Institute for Policy Reforms. Despite claims that the budget is a strategic breakthrough in economic policy, measures in the budget are tepid lacking a coherent strategy. The government takes credit for revival of GDP growth rates.
However, several developments, such as recovery of world economies from the 2008 financial crisis, low energy prices, growth in world trade, improved security in Pakistan, and large-scale investment in infrastructure from China helped Pakistan's economic growth.
Yet, despite these favourable developments, government has not placed the economy on a sustained growth path.
The economy's fundamentals are weak, especially its external sector with a runaway current account deficit. Government so far has no response on how it will manage the external account. Its estimate that imports will grow by just 4.8% is unrealistic.
For FY 19, government forecasts a growth rate of 6.2%. Fiscal deficit is targeted at 4.9% of GDP.
GoP has clearly made a policy transition from stability to growth. This would change if the vulnerable external sector makes Pakistan knock on the doors of the IMF again.