PakStox Outlook

International coal prices have undergone considerable fluctuations in recent years, propelled by a complex interplay of various factors. The year 2023 witnessed a modest downturn from the zenith of 2022. Presently, prices hover around $137 per metric tonne (MT), marking a notable descent from the staggering pinnacle of $458 recorded in September 2022. Nonetheless, prices persist at substantially elevated levels compared to those predating 2022. In 2022, a convergence of circumstances propelled prices to unprecedented heights. Disruptions within the global supply chain constrained the availability of coal, while demand, particularly in Asia, surged significantly. Furthermore, China's unspoken embargo on Australian coal, a pivotal source of high-quality supply, stemming from ongoing political tensions, exacerbated the situation. This embargo compelled China to seek alternative sources, further constricting the market and driving prices to astronomical levels. The ongoing conflict ...

DG Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC): Financial Results - Q3 2024 Earnings per Share (EPS) : Rs. 2.69 for Q3 2024, flat compared to the same quarter last year. Nine-month EPS stands at Rs. 5.10. Dividends: The company is not yet in a position to pay dividends. However, improved margins suggest a turnaround in profitability. Operating Performance:  Sales in the third quarter decreased by 22% compared to the same period last year, reflecting the general economic downturn. However, margins improved due to favorable coal prices. Lower distribution expenses also contributed to a 9% increase in profit before tax. Despite this, profit after tax remained flat at Rs. 1.18 billion due to a higher tax expense of 39%. Profitability : High interest payments are a major drag on profitability. For the first nine months of this fiscal year, DGKC's financial charges exceeded 65% of gross profit. Note that the company had incurred a significant loss of over Rs. 7.2 billion in the fourth quarter of...

Foreign Corporates net buying today was over $5.4 million. This is at a higher level than the avarege. The KSE100 Index rose by 620 points and closed near the 71k level. The bullish tone was set yesterday by foreign investors when they made a record net buying of $22 million in one day and forced the market to recoup its earlier intra-day losses. In ‘local investors’, the biggest net sellers were ‘companies’ with over $3.3 million net selling followed by ‘Individuals’ with a net selling of around $1.3 million. Foreign Corporates have made a net buying of over $ 50.7 million year to date. And this period 'overseas Pakistanis' have been a net seller of almost $5 million.  Foreign investors were heavy seller in the market in the January this year. It was probable just Fund that took the opportunity of quick capital gain in a short time as PSX started the bullish trend after IMF deal rose quickly.

A number of stocks in the Auto sector of Pakistan Stock Exchange were either at upper limit or close to it. Dewan Motors witnessed increased of 7.48%, while Ghandhara Automobile and Ghandhara Ind. surged by 7.32% and 7.06%, respectively. Honda Atlas Cars also hit upper limit and closed up 7.50%. Hinopak Motor, though slightly lower at 3.92%, still exhibited positive growth. And of course, Sazgar Eng hit the upper limit and closed +7.50%. Yesterday as well it had gained 6%. It announced EPS of Rs 50 for the quarter.  Agriautos Ind also  followed bullish trend and closed +6.56%.  Loads closed at +11.7%. And Ghandara Tyres at +5.4%

Sazgar Engineering Works Limited Financial Results: 3rd Quarter Ended Mar-2024 Cash Dividend: an interim cash dividend of Rs. 8/- per share. EPS: Rs. 50. Just compare this to Rs. 7.36 in the same quarter last year.  SAZGAR Engineering (SAZEW) had reported a noteworthy development in their 2023 annual report - the commencement of commercial production of HAVAL SUVs and the introduction of Pakistan's first locally assembled Hybrid Electric Vehicle. Financials of this 3rd quarter and same quarter last year year are not comparable. The company has grown astronomical. Market Price: SAZEW has hit upper limit. Current market price is Rs.555.07 gaining Rs. 38.73 (+7.50%) Year to date the scrip has gained 212% and in one year the gain is close to 1000% The Company is principally engaged in the manufacturing and sale of automobiles including Four Wheelers and Three Wheelers, Tractor Wheel Rims and Home Appliances. Download Sazgar Results announcement

LOTTE Chemical Pakistan Limited Financial Results: Quarter Ended March 31, 2024 Cash Dividend: Rs. 0.5 per share EPS: Rs. 0.6 (compared to Rs. 1.68 in the first quarter of the previous year) During this quarter, LOTCHEM's gross margin experienced a significant decline, dropping to 5% from 20% in the same period last year. Despite a robust sales growth of over 46% compared to last year's first quarter, the decline in gross margin impacted profitability. The plummeting gross margin led to a more than 60% decrease in both gross profit and operating profit. Additionally, the higher tax rate of 39%, up by 6% from the previous year, further affected the bottom line, resulting in a 65% decrease in profit after tax to Rs. 0.89 billion. As of yesterday, LOTCHEM closed at a market price of Rs. 18.34. It has declined more than 32% this year. Lotte Chemical Corporation owns over 75% shares of LOTCHEM. LOTCHEM Announcement.

Today as PSX came under selling pressure, and the KSE100 Index broke the 70k level, declining more than 500 points intra-day, The 'Foreign Corporates were waiting in the wings to capture the opportunity. They made a net buying of over $22.98 million - biggest amount in several years. By day end the KSE100 had almost fully recovered, restoring the 70k level decisively. Today’s investment by foreign corporates is higher than their entire net buying in this current month. Even overseas Pakistanis were net buyers today in their own insignificant way. In ‘local investors’ category (LIPI), everyone sold except mutual funds. Fund’s net buying was not significant, but the positive figure is nonetheless important. In local investors, ‘Individuals’ sold massively, with net selling of $19.3 million, they were followed by ‘Companies’ with $3.2 million net selling. It is important to note that not all investors in the ’Foreign Corporates’ are foreigners or ‘foreign funds. Some of the so called ...

EFERT: Engro Fertilizer Ltd FINANCIAL RESULTS: FOR THE FIRST QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2024 Cash Dividend: An interim cash dividend for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024, at Rs. 8.00 per share, i.e., 80%. EPS: Rs. 6.6 (last year, Rs. 4.13 in the same quarter last year) EFERT continues to shine. Remarkable first quarter performance. Sales surged impressively by 61%. Gross profit witnessed even more remarkable growth, soaring by 113% to Rs. 18.3 billion, driven by improved operational efficiency and a widened gross profit margin, which expanded from 26% to 34%. Profit before tax surged by 90% to Rs. 13.8 billion, despite a decline in other income. The growth in profit after tax got restricted to 60% due to higher taxation at 36% compared to 24% in the same quarter last year. On a consolidated basis, EFERT has posted an EPS of Rs. 8.08, substantially higher than Rs. 3.3 last year. Today EFERT closed at Rs.154.14 gaining Rs. 6.12 up 4.14%. Year to date it has gained over 37.4% and in on...

Meezan Bank Limited (MEBL) - Financial results for the First quarter ended March 31, 2024. Cash Divided: Rs 7/- per share. EPS: Rs. 14.1 (last year it was Rs. 8.6 in the same quarter) A substantial increase in net profit (+65%) in the topline, together with ‘fee and commission income’ (+40%), increased the ‘Profit before credit loss allowance / provisions’ by 76% from Rs 29.9 billion in the first quarter of last year to Rs. 52.7 billion in the first quarter of this year. Today MEBL closed at Rs.219 losing Rs. 10.6 down 4.61%. Year to date MEBL has risen close to 36%.  Meezan Bank Limited, founded in Pakistan in 1997, is a public limited company offering Islamic commercial banking services since 2002. They provide a variety of services including corporate, commercial, consumer, investment, and retail banking. See its impressive 5 years chart. Download announcement of MEBL.

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd. - Financial Results for the Quarter Ended 31st March, 2024 No Dividend EPS: Rs. 0.08 (substantial decline from first quarter last year, when PTC earned Rs. 1.07 per share) Despite achieving higher turnover, gross profit, and operating profit, a surge in financial charges by more than 2.8 times eroded these gains. Consequently, profit after tax for Q1 2024 plunged to only Rs. 607 million, a steep decline from Rs. 8.67 billion in Q1 2023. Positive Sign: The company's core business seems to be healthy. Higher turnover, gross profit, and operating profit indicate growth in sales, efficiency in production, and good management of operating expenses. PTC today closed at Rs.15.13 losing Rs. 1.02 down 6.32%. Four months back PTC was trading below Rs. 7 per share. It rose to over Rs. 18 by the end of March this year. Etisalat Group based in Abu Dhabi (UAE) has the controlling stake in PTC which it had acquired in privatization. Pak Telecom Mobile Limit...

United Bank Ltd: Financial Results for the 1stQuarter Ended 31 March 2024 An Interim Cash Dividend for the quarter ended 31 March 2024 at Rs.11/‐ per share i.e. 110%. EPS 1Q2024: 12.73 (last year same quarter EPS was Rs. 11.36) Profit after tax at Rs 15.5 billion rose by 12% over the same quarter last year. Markup income dropped close to 20% compared to last quarter. UBL booked a gain in securities of over Rs. 12 billion which has boosted the income. Profit before provision increased by 6%. Foreign exchange income, decreased 40% YoY and 19% QoQ to Rs 2.7 billion in 1Q2024. Fees & commission income, increased 22% YoY to Rs 5.27 billion in 1Q2024. UBL reversed provisions of Rs 1.7 billion in 1Q2024, compared to a provision expense of Rs 2.7 billion in 1Q2023. Operating expenses rose 22% in this quarter compared to same quarter last year. But compared to previous i.e., fourth quarter of Year 2023 there was no increase. UBL effective tax rate was 48% in 1Q2024, compared to 42% in 1...

BWCL: Bestway Cement Limited Financial Results - 3rd Quarter Ended March 31, 2024 Interim Cash Dividend: Rs 6/- per share EPS: Rs 5.93 (down from Rs. 5.99 same quarter last year) Positive Performance Overshadowed by Financial Charges While Bestway Cement Limited (BWCL) saw strong growth in turnover (16%), gross profit (35%), and operating profit (36%) compared to the third quarter of last year, a significant increase in financial charges (from Rs 1.44 billion to Rs 2.86 billion) impacted the overall profitability. This rise in financial charges more than doubled year-over-year, limiting profit before tax growth to just 14%. Additionally, a higher tax rate of 36% compared to 26% in the previous quarter further affected profit after tax, which declined slightly to Rs. 3.53 billion. BWCL pays dividends consistently. For the Financial Year 2024 it has already paid Rs 12/- per share as interim cash dividends in addition to Rs 6/- cash dividend announced with third quarter results. BWCL is ...

The KSE 100 index had a volatile day today. It opened down around 440 points, nearly dipping below 70,000, after crossing 71,000 intra-day yesterday. However, the market made a quick recovery and spent most of the day in positive territory. It closed just 150 points lower than yesterday's close. Foreign Corporates were inactive at PSX today and ended the session with a small amount of net selling. In this month of April, their net buying is significant, about $14 million., which is 65% of the total year-to-date amount. Local investors stepped up in the absence of foreign buying. Both individual investors and brokers emerged as significant net buyers. Among local investors, individuals led the charge with over $2.55 million in net buying, followed by brokers at $0.955 million. On the selling side , ' companies ' were the top net sellers with over $1.3 million, followed by ' funds ' with over $1.07 million. Interestingly, the redemption activity in funds suggests it ...

The KSE100 index initially crossed the 71,000 level today , gaining over 540 points. However, intense selling pressure from banks/DFIs and brokers' proprietary trading activity forced the index to close in the red, losing 61 points. Foreign corporates have continued their strong engagement with the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and were net buyers of over $3 million today. This buying streak extends to every trading day this month, with foreign corporates accumulating a net buy of over $14.7 million so far this month. This represents over 65% of their total net purchases for the year to date. Sectors with heavy weightage in the index, such as oil, power, and fertilizer, came under pressure today. These sectors were the recent leaders in terms of gains. Notably, within the oil sector, OGDC rose today. However, it's important to remember that its rally is recent, and OGDC is still trading down 16% from its high of about two months ago. In short, the Pakistan Stock Exchange is in...

After a mildly volatile day, the KSE 100 Index closed at 70,544 up 0.33%, adding 230 points. PSX had opened after long Eid holidays that had reduced the past week to only two trading sessions. The whole oil sector rose today, including exploration refineries and distribution companies. Fauji Foundation companies rose across sectors: food, banking, cement. etc. FCCL rose by 5.8%, AKBL by 5.03% and FFL by 5.02% This Friday, Pakistan repaid $1bn against euro bonds. This, too, contributed to a positive and bullish feeling. PSX is in a strong bullish trend and is based on foreign portfolio investment flows. In terms of exchange rate on a replacement cost basis, the listed companies are trading on very low multiples.  Today as well, the FIPI (Foreign Investors Portfolio Investment ) was strong. Foreign corporates were net buyers of an higher than normal amount of over $3mn.  Overseas Pakistanis have a negligible contribution to foreign investment flows. Even with a negligible amoun...