No misfortune for Lucky

Lucky Cement Limited declared a profit after tax of Rs. 2,014 million for the quarter ending 30th September 2012, which is 33.79% higher than last year’s first quarter net profit of Rs. 1,506 million.
A statement here on Thursday said that the Earnings per Share (EPS) of the Company increased to Rs. 6.23 per share versus Rs. 4.66 per share achieved in the same period last year.
It said that the gross profit for Lucky Cement, which is
Pakistan’s largest cement manufacturer increased by 32.87% during the quarter as its net sales revenue improved by 18.09% to Rs. 8,852 million against Rs. 7,496 million of the same period last year.
Higher sales volume in the domestic markets in line with the company’s strategy attributed to the increased profits.
The local sales volume during the quarter under review registered a growth of 5% that rose to 0.86 million tons sold as compared to 0.82 million tons sold during the same period last year. However, the export sales volume declined by 9% from 0.62 million tonnes to 0.56 million tons during the first quarter ending 30th
September 2012. This was mainly due to intentional focus on the domestic markets, which contributed in increasing the overall profitability of the company.
The company also managed to decrease its financing cost by 76 % during the quarter under review as compared to the same period last year.
The Company also reported progress on its Joint Venture investment for Cement Plant in DR Congo where plant and machinery has been negotiated and finalized with a renowned European supplier, and on its Joint Venture investment for a Grinding facility in Iraq where the teams for the project have been mobilized at the site.
As a part of its diversification strategy and following on from the signing of Share Purchase Agreement with Akzo Nobel N.V. for acquisition of ICI Pakistan shares, the company also reported the net purchase price of Rs. 186.42 per share, finalized on October 11th 2012 as per the Lock Box Mechanism agreed in the SPA.
As a responsible corporate citizen, Lucky Cement also disclosed its efforts towards education with various scholarships given to students in local and international universities, as well as in the health sector with donations to a charitable organization for providing medical treatments to poor and needy people of Pakistan.