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Lucky Cement Becomes Pakistan’s Largest Cement Manufacturer

Lucky Cement has successfully completed the construction and installation of an additional production line with a capacity of 2.8 million tons per annum at the North (KPK) Plant which makes it Pakistan’s largest construction material producer, surpassing Bestway Cement.

In a notification to the Pakistan Stock exchange, the company stated that the project has been completed within the given timeline, after a slight modification with respect to the Brownfield Expansion.

The new line was made operational with the commencement of Clinker production on December 30, 2019.

With the addition of this new line for 2.8 million tons, the total production capacity (including both North and South plants) of the company has now increased from 9.35 million tons to 12.15 million tons per annum.

It is worth mentioning that previously, Bestway Cement was Pakistan’s largest cement manufacturer with an annual production capacity of 10.3 million tons. As of now, Lucky Cement has toppled Bestway Cement Ltd as the nation’s biggest producer of the building material with a production capacity of 12.15 million tons per annum.

D.G. Khan has also proposed a plan to increase its capacity by increasing the production which will make it the second highest producer in the country with 10.7 million tons of production.

Naya Pakistan Housing Program (NPHP) has not launched any projects yet that can bring fresh demand for construction materials. But in FY 2020, it is expected that this program will kick off some of the projects which will increase cement consumption in the country. Furthermore, PSDP funds are also being released for the CPEC infrastructure projects that are currently underway.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the present government had given a lot of importance to the construction sector, which will help realize the project of five million housing units. The promotion of the construction sector is the government’s foremost priority.

ArifHabib gets PSX top companies award

KARACHI: Arif Habib Limited (AHL), one of Pakistan’s leading and largest Brokerage and Investment Banking Firms has been recognised amongst the Top 25 Companies by the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

AHL is one of the six companies that have been recognised as a Top Company for all of the last three years (2016, 2017 & 2018). The PSX Top 25 Companies award is evaluated based on capital efficiency, profitability, free float of shares, transparency, corporate governance & investor relations, compliance with listing of companies & securities regulations and dividend pay-outs.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, graced the occasion as Chief Guest and presented the Awards to the winners. Mr. Arif Habib, Chairman, Arif Habib Group received the award on behalf of the company. Mr. Habib appreciated the team of AHL, praising their hard work and dedication which has led to this recognition for the fifth consecutive year. He also said that PSX’s recognition of AHL is a testament of the Company’s excellent financial and managerial performance. News Desk

Fecto forms new subsidiary, reports fall in domestic sales

Fecto Cement Ltd has approved the formation of a wholly-owned subsidiary to implement the investment in a new cement plant.

The Pakistani cement producer had earlier announced plants to build a 6000tpd greenfield plant and 9MW waste heat recovery power plant in Palai, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Completion of the project would be expected in 18 months’ time.

Financial performance 1QFY19-20
In the first quarter of the 2019-20 financial year, Fecto Cement increased its clinker production by 10.4 per cent, but cement output fell by 9.8 per cent YoY. Company sales fell 10.9 per cent YoY, mainly due to a 17.3 per cent drop in domestic sales. Export sales were 49.5 per cent up YoY in the first quarter.

Gross local sales revenue declined by 19.9 per cent YoY to PKR1203m (US$7.8m) when compared with PKR1502m in the previous year’s first quarter. Net local sales revenue was down by 26.6 per cent YoY to PKR741m (1QFY18-19: PKR1010m).

Export revenues advanced 66.2 per cent to PKR155m in the 1QFY19-20 when compared with PKR93m in the year-ago period. The depreciation of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar was the main driver for the improved export figures.

A reduction in domestic selling prices coupled with an increase in cost of production due to various factprs, led to a reduction in gross profit for the period to PKR12m against PKR134m of same period in the previous year. The increase in distribution costs was due to higher export sales volume resulting higher dealers’ margins. The company reported a loss before tax of PKR-72m and loss after tax of PKR-53m for the period when compared with a profit before tax of PKR43m and profit after tax of PKR37m of same period last year.

While the off-take of cement increased from plants located in north fierce competition has resulted in a significant reduction in prices, which considerably affects the profitability of the industry. The rise in production costs due to multiple cost factors is also hampering the overall growth of the industry. These factors, coupled with slowdown in economic activities due to measures taken by the government to curtail current account and fiscal deficit, have also affected the industry. Depreciation of rupee against USD is expected to improve exports.

DG Khan Cement completes 12MW WHR power project

Pakistan-based DG Khan Cement Co Ltd (DGKC) has informed the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) that it has successfully completed installation and commissioning of a 12MW waste heat recovery power plant (WHRPP) with air-cooled condenser (ACC) technology at its 2.11Mta cement plant in Khairpur, Punjab.

DGKC’s Company Secretary, Khalid Mahmood Chohan said: “[Through] this technology, process waste heat is absorbed in boiler to produce steam at suitable pressure to run a turbine for the generation of electricity. The Air-Cooled Condenser (ACC) system has special characteristics to replace steam condensing with air instead of water resulting in enormous reduction in water consumption”.

The project is part of the cement producer’s drive to reduce its carbon footprint.

Thatta Cement Co appoints Muhammad Aslam Shaikh CEO

Pakistani-based Thatta Cement Co Ltd (THCCL) has informed Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) that Muhammad Aslam Shaikh is the company’s new CEO with effect from 23 December 2019, replacing Muhammad Taha Hamdani.

THCCL has a production capacity of 488,250tpa at its cement plant in Thatta, Sind Province.

Pakistan installs captive solar power

Fauji Cement Co Ltd (FCCL), Pakistan, recently installed a 12.5MW captive solar power project at its Attock plant. Plant located at Distt Attock, Pakistan.

The project, which was successfully commissioned in May  2019, is the largest captive solar power project in Pakistan’s industrial sector and makes FCCL leader in renewable energy in the country’s cement sector.

Completed in four months, the captive solar power plant saw the erection of over 38,000 Tier 1 solar panels over a 50-acre site. Annual power generation is expected to be around 19,750MWh.

The solar power plant will not only reduce the burden on Pakistan’s national grid but also reduce FCCL’s carbon footprint with an expected CO2 saving of ~14,000tpa.