Engro Corporation Ltd posted profit after tax (PAT) at Rs2.84bn for the first quarter financial year 2017, translating into earning per share (eps) at Rs5.42, down 23 per cent from PAT at Rs3.69bn and eps at Rs7.05 for the similar quarter in 2016. The company declared an interim cash dividend of Rs5.0/share. Earnings came in line with the market expectations.

The sales revenue dropped 33 percent year-on-year to Rs22.499 billion in the quarter under review. The sales fell as the company’s key fertiliser segment, Engro Fertilizer, posted 20 percent lower sales during the three months. Nonetheless, gross margins remained intact at 30 percent. Company’s operational efficiencies witnessed improvement with lower selling expenses, while finance costs also declined 6.0 percent.