KARACHI: Meezan Bank Limited has reported a significant increase in its net profit, reaching Rs 12.6 billion for the first half of the calendar year 2021 (January–June). This reflects an 8% growth compared to the Rs 11.7 billion net profit recorded during the same period last year, according to the bank’s financial results announced on Thursday.
(more…)Category: Corporate
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MCB Bank’s 2QCY21 results above market expectations
KARACHI: MCB Bank on Wednesday announced a profit after tax of Rs7.9 billion for second quarter ended June 30, 2021.
Analysts at Khadi Ali Shah Bukhari (KASB) said that the result is above estimates and street consensus.
The deviation is mainly on account of recognition of provisioning reversal worth Rs1.8 billion during the quarter. The result was accompanied with an interim cash dividend of Rs5.0 per share.
MCB’s profitability increased 12 per cent YoY during second quarter April – June of 2021 attributed to provisioning reversal.
However, NII declined by 17 per cent YoY as the policy rate remained unchanged during the period under review.
NFI increased by 46 per cent YoY in 2QCY21 as lockdown restrictions were eased off and economic activity picked up.
Major support came from 17 per cent YoY jump in fee income that clocked in at PKR 3.0 billion as against PKR 2.5 billion. Additionally, other income increased to PKR 661mn as opposed to PKR 61mn in corresponding period last year.
Notably, the bank recognized a provisioning reversal of PKR 1.8 billion that resulted in expansion in bottom-line. We expect a similar momentum in coming quarters with lower risk of provisioning as business activity has normalized.
The bank recorded higher effective tax rate of 45 per cent which we believe is attributed to new taxation measures introduced in Budget FY22. This is in-line with industry’s ETR as banks have shown prudence.
Additionally, C/I improved to 43 per cent as opposed to 45 per cent in corresponding period last year that lent support to MCB’s profitability.
We have an Outperform stance on the stock and our target price stands at PKR 220/sh. The stock is trading at a forward P/B of 1.13x and offers a dividend yield of 12 per cent
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Engro Fertilizers wins three awards
KARACHI: Engro Fertilizers Limited has been recognized at the prestigious Pakistan Digital Awards 2021. The company received three key awards for “Most Innovative Fintech Solution Provider”, “Best Payment Technology” and “Best Banking Tech of the Year”.
Faced with the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic, Engro Fertilizers was quick to adapt to the new normal and led the industry towards digitization in all respects, from customer and vendor support to digital payment solutions and virtual operations.
This was the first time that the Company was participating at the Pakistan Digital Awards. Out of the 94 categories, it was able to bag three Best in Class awards at the ceremony.
Receiving this award, Imran Ahmed, CFO of Engro Fertilizers Limited, shared: “The digitization journey that we embarked on a couple of years back has finally started to deliver results as we are now benefiting from improved availability of quality information and better control environment.
“We are thrilled by this recognition that was in the face of stiff competition. This encourages us to redouble our efforts in leveraging digitization to deliver operational excellence and differentiated customer experiences in the days and years to come”.
With “The Best Banking Tech of the Year” and “Best Payment Technology” award, Engro Fertilizers has been celebrated for setting new standards in the fertilizer industry through the launch of various innovative and automated financing solutions in engagement with its banking partners. It co-created Pakistan’s first-ever solution to electronically manage bank guarantees that will transform this banking process.
The initiative has reduced ordering cycle, provided customers convenience by not requiring them to make a physical visit to the bank and enhanced corporate services. Further, the move towards paperless operations has resulted in a favorable impact on the environment, and ensured transparency and swiftness of transactions.
In the “Most Innovative Fintech Data Solution Provider” category, the Company has been recognized for the group-wide implementation of new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system OneSAP, which has been endorsed as Pakistan’s largest SAP S/4 HANA digital business transformation.
By leveraging this technology, the Company was able to achieve the global benchmark in financial reporting by ensuring monthly closing within 24-hours. The OneSAP implementation has enabled the Company to manage business operations remotely with flexibility for the employees, reduced operational costs, and timely and accurate flow of financial information to the Management to facilitate timely decision making.
Expressing his delight at winning the awards, Nadir Qureshi – CEO of Engro Fertilizers – said: “It is humbling for us to have received these awards in the face of incredibly tough and distinguished competition. Guided by the Board’s vision and persistent efforts of our team, we have been able to make a swift transition towards digital platforms to navigate the challenges of global pandemic.
“By embracing digitization, we have improved business efficiency, customer service and set a precedent for others to follow in the industry. Going forward, we will InshAllah continue to lead the industry in setting new standards of digital excellence.”
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ICI Pakistan Limited acquires NutriCo
KARACHI: ICI Pakistan Limited on Tuesday announced 51 per cent shareholding and making NutriCo Pakistan (Private) Limited its subsidiary.
In a communication to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the company said that ICI Pakistan Limited had successfully completed the acquisition of 55,013 ordinary shares (equivalent to 11 per cent shareholding) of NutriCo Pakistan (Private) Limited.
Following the acquisition, the total shareholding of ICI Pakistan Limited in NutriCo Pakistan (Private) Limited stands 51 per cent, making NutriCo Pakistan (Private) Limited a subsidiary of ICI Pakistan Limited.
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SBP approves PIA Sukuk for SLR maintenance
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday approved Sukuk to be issued by Pakistan International Airlines Company Limited (PIACL) for the requirement of Statutory Liquidity Requirement (SLR).
The SBP said that in terms of Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Finance notification S.R.O. 746(I)/2021 dated May 31, 2021, the privately placed Sukuk to be issued by Pakistan International Airlines Company Limited (PIACL) under the title of “PIA-Sukuk-I” shall be approved security for the maintenance of SLR under sub-section 1 of section 29 of the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962.
Further, SLR eligibility limit (i.e. 7 percent) on Public Sector Sukuk shall be applicable on PIA Sukuk-I in accordance with the provisions of the Circular referred above.
The ministry of finance issued SRO 746 (I)/2021 dated May 31, 2021 to announce that privately placed Sukuk to be issued by PIACL up to Rs20 billion shall be guaranteed by the government of Pakistan and shall be approved security for the maintenance of liquid assets.
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AHL declares Rs2.08 billion annual profit
KARACHI: Arif Habib Limited (AHL) on Monday announced Rs2.08 billion as profit for the year ended June 30, 2021.
The board of directors of the AHL approved the financial results for the year ended June 30, 2021.
The company also declared a final cash dividend of Rs 10 per share i.e. 100 per cent, and bonus 10 per cent (i.e. 10 shares for every 100 shares held) for the year 2021.
The company recorded the highest ever revenues in the history of brokerage, investment banking and money markets division; all combined have taken up AHL’s core income by Rs1,398 million.
The brokerage division witnessed an increase of 132 per cent in revenue against the same period in the previous year.
Investment Banking’s income increased massively by 633 per cent from Rs155 million to Rs672 million. This increase is attributable to successful completion of equity and debt IPOs.
The Company’s investment portfolio has yielded healthy realized and unrealized revenue of Rs1,681 million against Rs228 million in the corresponding period.
Commenting on the results, Shahid Ali Habib, CEO, AHL said: ‘’AHL’s growth momentum is outstanding and in line with our expectations. The phenomenal increase in revenue has been due to stellar performance across all business divisions and high volumes in the market. We foresee similar brokerage and investment banking performance in coming year as the economy grows and focus on capital market development intensifies.”
AHL, which led 8 of the 10 IPOs this year, has embarked upon expanding its footprint by establishing presence in other cities and increasing its client base both within Pakistan and abroad, which is expected to reap dividends by its shareholders in the future.
AHL is pioneering the efforts of opening Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA) for Overseas Pakistanis that is bound to help Pakistan increase foreign investment flows and has maintained an average of 35 per cent of market share since RDA’s introduction in September.
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Telecard Limited becomes Shariah compliant company
KARACHI: Al-Hilal Shariah Advisors (Pvt.) Limited has approved Telecard Limited for qualifying Shariah compliant company, a notification said on Friday.
It said that Al-Hilal Shariah Advisors (Pvt.) Limited had conducted Shariah Compliance Screening of Telecard Limited based on the financial statements of March 31, 2021.
“We have thoroughly analyzed the financial statement on the basis of various Shariah screening criteria issued by our Shariah Supervisory Council.”
In light of the information provided and our evaluation, we found that the company has passed the 4 out of 5 shariah screening filter while 1 filter i.e. Illiquid Assets to Total Assets ratio is slightly below the desired threshold level, it said.
The Shariah Supervisory Council of Al Hilal Shariah Advisors concluded that the issue considerable illiquid assets remain a problem for services sector companies, since they do not have considerable illiquid assets because of their nature of business and Asset light model and this becomes a hurdle for Shariah compliance clearance for such companies.
In this regard, the Shariah Supervisory Council of Al Hilal Shariah Advisors recommends that the illiquid Assets to Total Assets ratio may not be considered while evaluating shariah compliance for such service providing companies given that the company financials meet the other desired criteria.
As per the above statement, the Shariah Board has approved the company to be Shariah Compliant.
Hence it is resolved that it is permissible to invest in shares of Telecard Limited.
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Pak Oxygen invests Rs2.5bn for ASU setup
KARACHI: Pakistan Oxygen Limited on Monday announced to set up an Air Separation Unit (ASU) with an amount of Rs2.5 billion.
The company will set up the unit in the northern of Pakistan. This is company’s fifth ASU plant in the country.
The board of directors of the company approved the investment plan on July 16, 2021. The investment will meet the growing demand of Oxygen in the country. It will meet demand from healthcare and industrial segments.
The company hoped new plant to come on stream by 2023. It made efforts to meet demand for COVID-19 patients. The company will install ASU plant in Khyber Pkhtunkwha province. The new ASU shall serve the various CPEC related projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The company approved around Rs10 billion. The largest investment of this is Rs6.3 billion for under construction plant at Port Qasim Karachi.
The company has three ASU plants in two major cities. These ASU plants have combined capacity of 263 tons per day.
In February this year company announced investment of Rs417.5 million to set up European technology electrode manufacturing in Karachi.
Pakistan Oxygen Limited is a leading supplier of industrial and medical gases. It provides pipeline services and welding solutions.
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PTCL declares 38% growth in net profit for first half
KARACHI: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) on Wednesday announced 38 per cent growth in net profit for the half ended June 30, 2021.
The telecom company announced Rs3.74 billion as net profit for the period January – June 2021 as compared with Rs2.7 billion in the corresponding half of the last year.
The company announced 73 paisas as earnings per share for the first half of the year under review as compared with 53 paisas EPS declared in the same half of the last year.
Revenue of the company increased to Rs38.187 billion for the first half of 2021 as compared with Rs35.33 billion in the same half of the last year.
The PTCL declared Rs8.69 billion as gross profit for the six months period of the current year as compared with Rs7.32 billion in the same period of the last year.
Administrative and general expenses of the company increased to Rs3.52 billion as compared with Rs3.16 billion.
The results have been announced by the Board of Directors of the company in their meeting held on July 14, 2021.
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Probe in Hascol financials underway: SECP
ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) took notice of HASCOL’s reported accounts for the period ending June 30, 2019 in October 2019, according to a statement issued on Tuesday.
In this regard, the SECP has diligently followed its requisite internal protocols in compliance with its mandated role and responsibility.
However, being the apex corporate regulator of the country, SECP has to conclude its proceedings after following due process as envisaged under the law.
The SECP does not comment on its regulatory actions until they are finalized and orders are issued, at which stage they are published on its website without any exception. However, recently some misreporting in the print media has been undertaken that is devoid of facts and has been published without seeking SECP’s version.
The SECP has been and continues to remain vigilant and proactive in swiftly dealing with any regulatory violations that fall within its ambit.
SECP greatly respects and values its ongoing relationship with the media which almost invariably reports on SECP’s activities in a measured, responsible and fair manner. However, it expects that reporting on matters currently under consideration of SECP should not be based on conjecture or incorrect hearsay.