Attock Cement Pakistan Limited (ACPL) is scheduled to announce its financial result for 1QFY24 on 9th Oct’23, whereby we expect the company to post a massive growth in earnings of 14x YoY to PKR 1,604mn (EPS: PKR 11.67) compared to PKR 116mn (EPS: PKR 0.84) in 1QFY23. The increase in profitability is attributed to a surge in other income, which is expected to swell up by 32x YoY given the company sold off half of its holding in the subsidiary ‘Saqr AL Keetan for Cement Production Company Limited’.

The company’s remaining holding in the subsidiary is anticipated to be sold within 18 months. The top line in 1QFY24 is projected to soar by 85% YoY to clock in at PKR 8,082mn vis-à-vis PKR 4,364mn in SPLY, amid an increase in retention price coupled with higher volumetric sales. Local dispatches depicted an upturn in 1QFY24 due to the drop in demand in the last year amid floods. The gross margins are projected to climb by 364 bps YoY to settle at 20.5% in 1QFY24 on the back of augmented cement prices in tandem with the decline in coal prices. The finance cost is forecasted to increase to PKR 418mn vs PKR 82mn in SPLY due to higher borrowing costs.

Courtesy – AHL Research