Category: Corporate

  • PPL announces Rs31.14 billion half year profit

    PPL announces Rs31.14 billion half year profit

    KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) on Friday announced financial results for the half year ended December 31, 2021. The company announced Rs31.14 billion as net profit for the half year.

    The net profit of the company grew by over 19 per cent when compared with Rs26.11 billion in the same half of the last year.

    Pakistan Petroleum Limited is a Pakistani state-owned petroleum company. The company announced earnings per share at Rs11.44 for the half year ended December 31, 2021 as compared with Rs9.59 in the same period of the last year.

    READ MORE: PPL gets license for large scale mining of Lead, Zinc

    The board of directors of the company at its meeting held on February 25, 2022 approved the financial statements for the half year ended December 31, 2021.

    The board of directors approved an interim cash dividend for the year ending June 30, 2022 of Rs1.50 per share on ordinary shares and Rs1.5 per share on convertible preference shares. The dividend will be distributed to those members whose names appear in the register of members of the company as at the close of business on March 10, 2022.

    READ MORE: PPL posts 18% net profit growth in first quarter

    According to the financial results, the revenue of the company increased to Rs90.42 billion for the half year ended December 31, 2021 as compared with Rs75.81 billion in the same half of the preceding year.

    Operating expenses of the company eased to Rs19.96 billion when compared with Rs22.18 billion.

    Exploration expenses during the half ended December 31, 2021 increased sharply to Rs9.04 billion as compared with Rs3.27 billion in the same half of the last year.

  • Habib Bank posts Rs35.51 billion annual profit

    Habib Bank posts Rs35.51 billion annual profit

    Habib Bank Limited (HBL) held its conference call on Friday to discuss financial performance and provide its future outlook onwards. HBL posted a profit after tax of Rs 35.51 billion (EPS: Rs 23.9) in 2021 as opposed to Rs 30.91 billion (EPS: Rs 21.1) in the same period last year, up by 15 per centYoY. It was the best ever result in the history of HBL.

    Along with the result, the bank announced a final cash dividend of Rs 2.25 per share taking the full payout to Rs 7.5 per share.

    Analysts at KASB Research have an outperform rating on HBL based on Justified P/B with a target price of Rs 175 per share. The stock offers a dividend yield of 7.4 per cent and is currently trading at a one year forward P/Bv of 0.57x.

    READ MORE: Habib Bank declares Rs26.44 billion 9-month profit

    As per the management, three key pillars of mid to long term strategy include accelerating Pakistan’s growth and development, shaping financial industry and improving agriculture sector’s productivity. The bank also aims to step up SMEs, branchless banking and CPEC based infrastructure growth in country.

    The bank’s digital footprint is increasing day by day, the highest in the industry. Konnect accounts are up by 1.3x 7.1 million.

    The bank crossed Rs 100.0 billion in consumer loans. Consumer financing grew by 31 per cent reaching Rs 102.8 billion driven by growth in auto and personal loans.

    READ MORE: Habib Bank, Meezan Bank directed to pay fraud victims

    Home remittances for the bank also increased by 29 per cent YoY in 2021 to USD 2.74 billion and the market share clocked in at 8.8 per cent. The bank aims to take the market share to double digits in 2022.

    Domestic deposits noted a growth of 19 per cent over December 2021 and the banks’ market share improved to 14.4 per cent. Meanwhile, international deposits increased by 16 per cent to USD 1.9 billion. CA crossed Rs 1.0 trillion.

    Domestic advances expanded by 20 per cent over December 2020 to Rs 1.2 trillion and international loans increased by 24 per cent.

    READ MORE: Habib Bank pays penalty of Rs42.2 million to SBP

    Infection ratio clocked in at 5.1 per cent as opposed to 6.3 per cent in December 2020 and the bank’s coverage stood at 104 per cent.

    ROE came at 14.4 per cent and ROA stayed at 0.9 per cent in December 2021.

    The bank intends to expand Islamic banking by adding 30/40 new branches in different new cities taking the tally to 250-260 by December 2022.

  • National Bank under grip of regulatory violations

    National Bank under grip of regulatory violations

    National Bank of Pakistan in a notice sent to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) disclosed that it reached an agreement with US regulators of NBP’s New York branch with fines of $55 million arising due to historical compliance weakness and delays in making compliance related enhancements.

    However, there were no findings of improper transactions or willful conduct as per the notice.

    Latest press release by U.S Department of Financial Services stated: “The National Bank of Pakistan allowed serious compliance deficiencies in its New York branch to persist for years despite repeated regulatory warnings. Foreign banks that enjoy the privilege of operating in New York have an obligation to maintain effective controls, and the Department will continue to promote financial transparency and take action to protect the global financial system when those obligations are not met”.

    READ MORE: US central bank imposes $20.4 million penalty on NBP

    Following examinations conducted by the Department and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2014 and 2015, NBP’s New York branch was found to have inadequate Bank Secrecy/Anti-money compliance programs.

    As a result, enforcement action against NBP was taken in 2016 where NBP agreed to improve compliance deficiencies which later on it failed to do so. As a result, the bank will now be subject to $35 million penalty in addition to certain deliverables for the improvement in its compliance program.

    READ MORE: NBP lends Rs18.8bn in Hascol’s Rs54bn scam

    In addition to the fine by U.S Department of Financial Services, Federal Reserve Board also imposed $20.4million penalty against NBP on anti-money laundering violations totaling penalty to $55million which translates into Rs9.7billion (Rs4.6/share). In 9M2021, the bank has so far reported earnings of Rs25billion.

    Analysts at Topline Securities said that previously HBL also faced a similar fine in 2017 where the U.S regulators initially imposed a penalty of US$630million on HBL on non-compliance of Anti-money laundering laws, which was later revised down to US$225million.

    NBP is also faced with a pending pension liability case with potential liabilities of over Rs70 billion under which the company had filed a review petition in Supreme Court of Pakistan where further judgement is still awaited. The bank due to the aforementioned reason has skipped dividends since 2017, we believe.

  • United Bank posts Rs30.62 billion net profit for 2021

    United Bank posts Rs30.62 billion net profit for 2021

    KARACHI: United Bank Limited (UBL) on Wednesday posted Rs30.62 billion profit after tax for the year ended December 31, 2021, according to financial results submitted to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)

    The bank registered 47 per cent growth in profit after tax for the year under review as compared with Rs20.78 billion in the preceding year.

    The bank announced earnings per share at Rs24.84 for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared with Rs17.10 in the preceding year.

    READ MORE: UBL gets DD approval to acquire Telenor Microfinance Bank

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the earnings jumped mainly on the back of reversals in provisioning and a surge in net fee income (NFI).

    The bank announced a dividend of Rs6.00 per share for the quarter taking total payout to PKR 18.00 per share for the year ended December 31, 2021.

    Net Interest Income (NII) of the bank settled at Rs74.7bn during the year under review, decreasing 3 per cent Year on Year YoY/ 2 per cent Quarter on Quarter (QoQ) attributable to significant rate hikes during the previous year leading to sharp increase in interest expense.

    READ MORE: UBL declares 42% growth in net profit in nine months

    NFI depicted a rise of 29 per cent YoY mainly due to massive jump in capital gains (469 per cent YoY) followed by higher dividend income (80 per cent YoY) and foreign exchange income (8 per cent YoY). On a sequential basis, NFI was up 19 per cent QoQ mainly due to a 23 per cent QoQ jump in Fee income.

    The bank booked a net reversal of Rs1.5 billion in the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to huge provisioning of Rs17.2 billion during the preceding year. This could be on the back of stronger economic activity and improved asset quality helping the bank to book reversals against Non-Performing Loans (NPLs).

    The bank’s operating expenses rose 9 per cent YoY/16 per cent QoQ. Cost/Income clocked-in at 49 per cent during the year under review compared to 46 per cent same period last year.

    Effective tax rate was set at 41 per cent during the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to 39 per cent in the preceding year.

  • OGDCL declares over 63% net profit for 1HFY22

    OGDCL declares over 63% net profit for 1HFY22

    KARACHI: Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) on Wednesday announced financial results for the half year ended December 31, 2021.

    The company announced over 63 per cent growth in net profit to Rs69 billion for the first half (July – December) 2021/2022 as compared with Rs42.22 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

    READ MORE: OGDCL declares Rs33.63 billion net profit in first quarter

    The company announced earnings per share (EPS) at Rs16.02 for the half year ended December 31, 2021 as compared with Rs9.82 announced in the corresponding half of the last year.

    The board of directors of the company in their meeting held on February 23, 2022 approved an interim cash dividend for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 at Rs2 per share i.e. 20 per cent. This is in addition to interim dividend already paid at Rs1.75 per shre i.e. 17.50 per cent.

    READ MORE: OGDCL discovers huge gas deposits in Balochistan

    According to the financial results, the sales of the company registered a massive increase to Rs151.16 billion for the first half of the fiscal year 2021/2022 as compared with Rs110.97 billion in the corresponding half of the last fiscal year.

    Operating expenses of the company were flat at Rs34.37 billion in July – December 2021/2022 as compared with Rs33.3 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year.

    READ MORE: OGDCL announces gas discovery in KPK

    OGDCL paid an amount of Rs17 billion as royalty during the first half of the current fiscal year as compared with Rs12.9 billion in the corresponding half of the last fiscal year.

  • Engro Fertilizers highlights food security at Dubai Expo

    Engro Fertilizers highlights food security at Dubai Expo

    KARACHI: Engro Fertilizers, Pakistan’s premier seed-to-harvest solutions provider, hosted an insightful dialogue at Expo 2020 Dubai to highlight the food security situation in the Gulf and the potential partnership opportunities with Pakistan to overcome the regional food security challenges.

    The panel comprised global agricultural and industry experts including Dr. Abdul Rashid (IFA Laureate), Charles Schneider (International Finance Corporation), Ayman Alwadhy (The Corporate Group, UAE), Wasim Halabi (Foodco National Foodstuff Co PJSC), Fredric Favre (MAS Seeds, France) and Khusrau Nadir Gilani (Engro Fertilizers).

    The event was also graced by Hussain Dawood (Chairman of Engro Corporation and Dawood Corporation), Shahzada Dawood (Vice Chair, Engro Corporation), Ghias Khan (President & CEO of Engro Corporation) and Nadir Salar Qureshi (CEO of Engro Fertilizers), along with other members of the Engro leadership team.

    The expert panel pointed out that food security in the Gulf region is a growing challenge due to high dependence on food imports, increasing water scarcity, climate change and supply chain interruptions.

    In 2020, the region’s share of the acutely food insecure global population was 20 per cent, which is disproportionately high compared to its 6 per cent share of the population. By forging partnerships in the agricultural sector with large established sustainable agri-base countries, like Pakistan, the region can benefit from enhanced agricultural output to overcome its food security challenge.

    There is significant potential to increase Pakistan’s agricultural output with focus on modern technology, seed quality, balanced use of fertilizers, and uplift of infrastructure across the agri value chain. It was noted that if average farmer yields are brought at par with those of progressive farmers within the country, Pakistan will see a dramatic increase in wheat and rice production serving not only the needs for domestic consumption, but also create significant surpluses for exports to the Gulf-Region.

    The Government of Pakistan was also applauded for its efforts to improve water provision and farm economics, resulting in an increase of approximately 1.6 million hectares in area under cultivation with further growth anticipated with large irrigation projects underway.

    According to Nadir Qureshi, “To bridge the agri yield gap and enrich crops with essential nutrients, Engro Fertilizers has introduced innovative products and seed-to-harvest solutions, farmer upskilling programs, access to expert advice by leveraging technology, and free of cost soil testing laboratories. We hope that this dialogue will serve as an initial step to encourage Pakistan, Engro and Gulf entities to work together to jointly develop innovative solutions and explore the scope for international partnerships in the agri space.”

    The panel discussion concluded that the food and agriculture sector can be an engine of economic growth for both the Gulf region and Pakistan. Through the adoption of technological innovation and sustainable practices, the agricultural sector of Pakistan can be transformed to reduce dependence on food imports, create surpluses to drive significant exports and meet the Gulf regions’ dietary nutrition requirements.

  • Citi Pharma declares 100% increase in half year profit

    Citi Pharma declares 100% increase in half year profit

    KARACHI: Citi Pharma Limited on Tuesday announced about 100 per cent increase in its net profit for the half year ended December 31, 2021.

    The net profit of the company was Rs343 million for the half year ended December 31, 2021 as compared with Rs168 million in the same period of the last year.

    READ MORE: PSX notifies listing of Citi Pharma

    The company said that the net profit had witnessed significant rise in spite of the expenses incurred on the listing of the company during the period under review.

    In the period under review, the net sales increased to Rs4.84 billion for the half year ended December 31, 2021 as compared with Rs2.63 billion in the corresponding period of the last year, showing a growth of 84 per cent.

    Similarly, the gross profit increased to Rs701 million for the period under review as compared with Rs410 million in the same period of the last year.

    READ MORE: Citi Pharma’s IPO oversubscribed; Rs2.32 billion raised in book building

    On the quarter basis there is an increase of sales of the company from Rs1.99 billion to Rs2.85 billion and registered an increase of 43 per cent from the previous quarter.

    The gross profit for the quarter increased to Rs405 million as compared with Rs296 million from the previous quarter and witnessed an increase of 37 per cent.

    READ MORE: Citi Pharma’s IPO book building starts June 15

    Net profit of the second quarter has improved to Rs261 million a compared with Rs81 million and registered an increase of 222 per cent on quarter basis, in the first quarter listing expense of Rs129 million was incorporated otherwise the profit could have been Rs210 million.

    The company has also decided to increase the number of beds of the hospital from 50 to 200.

    READ MORE: List of cities contributing tax above Rs1 billion

  • SECP, FBR integration brings 2,365 companies under tax net

    SECP, FBR integration brings 2,365 companies under tax net

    ISLAMABAD: The integration between Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has brought 2,365 companies under tax registration.

    A statement issued by the SECP stated that as a result of integration of SECP with FBR and various provincial departments, 2,365 companies were registered with FBR for generation of NTN, 40 companies with EOBI, 16 companies with PESSI/SESSI and 37 companies with Excise and Taxation department.

    READ MORE: Retail sector’s sales worth Rs16 trillion not in tax net: Tarin

    The SECP said that the total registration with the commission reached to 160,989 by end of January 2022.

    While it registered 2,448 new companies in January 2022 witnessing an increase of 10 per cent as compared to corresponding period, last year.

    About 62 percent companies were registered as private limited companies, while 36 percent were registered as single member companies. Two percent were registered as public unlisted companies, not for profit associations, trade organizations, foreign companies and limited liability partnership (LLP).

    READ MORE: RDA: SECP exempts banks from obtaining license

    About 99.5 percent companies were registered online while 225 foreign users were registered from overseas. Total capitalization (paid-up-capital) with regard to newly incorporated companies for the current month stood at Rs.3 billion.

    Foreign investment has been reported in 53 new companies. These companies have foreign investors from Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, China, Egypt, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Korea South, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK and the US.

    READ MORE: SECP warns against investing in fraudulent schemes

    In January’s incorporations, the real estate development & construction sector took the lead with incorporation of 427, information technology with 365, trading with 290, services with 212, tourism with 129, e-commerce with 119, education with 111, food and beverages with 89, marketing and advertisement with 69, engineering with 58, textile with 56, pharmaceutical with 43, corporate agricultural farming with 42, healthcare with 40, chemical with 35, transport with 34, mining and quarrying, and power generation with 29 each, lodging with 26, auto and allied, and fuel and energy with 22 each, communications, and cosmetics and toiletries with 21 each, cables and electric goods, and paper and board with 17 each, steel and allied with 13, arts and culture with 12, broadcasting and telecasting with 10, and 90 companies were registered in other sectors.

    READ MORE: Company registration rises to 145,913 by June 2021: SECP

  • MCB Bank gets approval for Telenor Bank due diligence

    MCB Bank gets approval for Telenor Bank due diligence

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has granted MCB Bank to conduct due diligence for the purchase of 55 per cent shares of M/s. Telenor Microfinance Bank, a statement said on Monday.

    According to it the SBP had granted in-principal conditional approval to MCB to conduct due diligence for a potential transaction for the purchase of 55 per cent shares of M/s. Telenor Microfinance Bank Limited held by Telenor Pakistan BV (operates under the Easypaisa brand name)

    The board of directors of MCB had already, in its meeting held on October 27, 2021 accorded its in-principle approval to conduct a due diligence for the potential transaction.

  • Meezan Bank announces 26% growth in annual profit

    Meezan Bank announces 26% growth in annual profit

    Meezan Bank Limited (MEBL) has unveiled robust financial results for the fiscal year 2021, showcasing a remarkable 26% growth in profit.

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