Displaying items by tag: Pakistan

Pakistan: Residents of Hattar have taken to the streets against outbreaks of various illnesses that they claim are due to pollution and the release of wastewater from Bestway Cement’s plant in Hattar. Protesters gathered outside the factory gates to lodge a strong protest and chanted slogans against the ‘anti-people policies’ of the factory management.

The protest was led by local councillor Sajjad Hussain Shah, Imran Ali Shah and Syed Zaheer Shah, who complained that the plant had blocked canal water, discharged chemically-contaminated water into sewage lines, illegally used union council roads and failed to act regarding quotas to employ local residents. The protesters claimed that ‘every second person’ in the area had fallen victim to asthma and that the canal blockage had brought locals the ‘gift of dengue fever,’ which spreads via flies in stagnant water.

The management of the plant said that any decision regarding the demands of the protesters could only be taken after getting approval from head office, issuing a statement that read, “We received a four-point formula from the protesters and assured them that their demands will be accepted. We will inform our head office regarding the whole situation. We hope that the issues will be settled soon.” This was countered by the protesters, who claim that several similar protests had gone unheeded in the past.

Pakistan: Cement dispatches declined by 18.5% year-on-year across Pakistan in October 2022, according to data from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers’ Association (APCMA). Total cement dispatches during October 2022 were 4.25Mt, compared to 5.22Mt in October 2021. Local dispatches fell by 3.98Mt in October 2022 from 4.60Mt in October 2021, a fall of 15.5%. Exports fell by 40.7% from 611,000t in October 2021 to 362,000t in October 2022.

During the first four months of the current fiscal year, which began on 1 July 2022, Pakistan’s total cement dispatches - domestic and exports - were 13.9Mt, down by 23.1% from more than 18Mt during the corresponding period of the prior fiscal year. Domestic dispatches during this period were 12.5Mt against 15.9Mt a year earlier, a reduction of 21.4%. Exports were 36.0% lower than in the first four months of the 2021 - 22 fiscal year, falling to 1.38Mt.

Pakistan: Dewan Cement recorded US$16.2m in turnover during the first quarter of its 2023 financial year, up by 17% year-on-year from US$13.9m in the first quarter of the 2022 financial year. Its cost of sales also rose, by 41% to US$17.7m from US$12.5m. As such, the producer's loss more than doubled to US$3.13m, from US$1.32m in the first quarter of the 2022 financial year.

Pakistan: Fauji Cement has recorded first-quarter sales of US$67.2m in its 2023 financial year, up by 27% year-on-year from US$52.9m during the first quarter of the previous financial year. The producer's cost of sales was US$47.9m, up by 29% from US$37.3m, and it recorded a profit for the period of US$10.6m, up by 10% from US$9.62m.

Fauji Cement is currently undergoing a transition into the third largest cement producer in Pakistan, through a US$122m 2.05Mt/yr expansion to its Nizampur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, cement plant and a US$148m 2.05Mt/yr expansion to its Dera Ghazi Khan cement plant. Together, Fauji Cement will fund the projects through US$171m-worth of debt, US$54.9m-worth of internal cash generation and US$45.7m-worth of equity.

Pakistan: Bestway Cement has ignited the 7200t/day kiln at its new Mianwali integrated cement plant in Punjab Province. The plant has 20MW of dedicated solar power capacity and 9MW of waste heat recovery (WHR) power capacity.

Pakistan: Askari Cement has ignited the newly installed 6500t/day kiln at its Nizampur cement plant in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The kiln increases the plant's capacity by 73% to 4.85Mt/yr. The project, along with parent company Fauji Cement's construction of a new 2.05Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Dera Ghazi Khan, cost US$339m. Fauji Cement took a US$212m loan to support the works in January 2022. The group expects both projects to raise its capacity by 56% to 10.5Mt/yr and to increase its market share to 13%.

Fauji Cement's upcoming Dera Ghazi Khan cement plant is scheduled for commissioning in mid-late 2024.

Pakistan: Attock Cement recorded standalone sales of US$92.6m in its 2022 financial year, down by 3.6% year-on-year from US$96.1m in its 2021 financial year. The company produced 2.18Mt of clinker, down by 32% from 3.19Mt, corresponding to a capacity utilisation of 76%. The decision to reduce production came about due to high coal costs. Attock Cement sold 1.8Mt of cement, down by 10% from 2.01Mt in the 2021 financial year. The producer's cost of sales rose by 1.1% year-on-year to US$75.9m from US$75.1m. It profit after tax nonetheless grew by 1.2%, to US$5.07m from US$5.01m.

Chair Laith Pharaon said "The 2022 financial year was a challenging year for the company, as export sales remain depressed due to uncompetitive prices demanded by regional markets, which were also facing the uncertainties." He continued "Due to higher input costs owing to the significant increase in energy prices, the gross margin also declined by 4%. However, because of exchange gain on foreign receivables and dividend income received from its Iraq-based 60% subsidiary Saqr Al Keetan, operating margin improved by 3%.

Pakistan: Bestway Cement recorded a net turnover of US$84.1m in the first quarter of its 2023 financial year, up by 21% year-on-year from US$69.4m in the first quarter of the 2022 financial year. The producer's cost of sales also rose, by 13% year-on-year to US$55m from US$48.6m. Despite this challenge, it increased its profit for the period by 11% to US$15m from US$13.5m in the first quarter of the 2022 financial year.

Pakistan: Lucky Cement bought back more of its own shares on 17 October 2022. The total value of the purchase was US$408,000.

Lucky Cement previously bought back US$212,000-worth of shares earlier in October 2022, under the same resolution of it board from 20 September 2022.

Pakistan: Lucky Cement has informed the Pakistan Stock Exchange of its purchase of US$212,000-worth of its shares. The producer's board of directors passed a resolution for the buyback on 20 September 2022.