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Category: Corporate

  • AHL declares Rs2.08 billion annual profit

    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.

  • Telecard Limited becomes Shariah compliant company

    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.

  • Pak Oxygen invests Rs2.5bn for ASU setup

    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.

  • PTCL declares 38% growth in net profit for first half

    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.

  • Probe in Hascol financials underway: SECP

    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.

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

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

    ISLAMABAD: The total number of companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has increased to 145,913 by end June 2021, a statement said on Friday.

    The commission registered 2,504 new companies in June 2021, indicating a growth of 63 per cent as compared to corresponding period last year.

    Ninety-nine per cent of these were incorporated online and 45 per cent applicants were issued registration certificates the same day, whereas 203 new foreign users were registered from overseas.

    Of the newly registered companies, 65 percent were registered as private limited companies, 31 percent as single member companies and four percent as public unlisted companies, not for profit associations, foreign companies and limited liability partnership (LLP). Total capitalization (paid-up-capital) of newly incorporated companies for the current month is amounted to Rs3.3 billion.

    The construction & real estate sector took the lead with the incorporation of 474, trading with 382, I.T with 275, services with 216, ecommerce with 129, food & beverages with 105, textile with 86, corporate agricultural farming with 76, education with 66,  engineering, and market & development 54 each, pharmaceutical with 50, healthcare with 45, tourism with 39, mining & quarrying, and transport with 36 each, chemical with 34, auto & allied with 33, cables & electric goods with 31,  logging with 27, communication with 26, power generation with 24, paper & board, and cosmetics & toiletries with 19 each, steel & allied with 18, broadcasting & telecasting, and  fuel and energy with 16 each, wood & wood products with 13 and 105 companies were registered in other sectors.

    Foreign investment has been reported in 66 new companies. These companies have foreign investors from Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, China, France, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia Republic, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, the UK, Uruguay and the US.

    The highest numbers of companies, i.e. 810 were registered in Islamabad, followed by 807 and 394 companies registered in Lahore and Karachi respectively. The CROs in Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, Quetta and Sukkur registered 174, 127, 98, 62, 22, and 10 companies respectively.

  • CCP initiates probe against Foodpanda for discriminatory practices

    CCP initiates probe against Foodpanda for discriminatory practices

    ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) on Wednesday said it initiated a probe against the online food delivery service platform/aggregator, Foodpanda, to investigate its alleged abuse of dominant position and possible violation of prevailing laws, in the market of online food delivery platforms.

    The CCP said that the enquiry committee will also review and place before the commission, its findings, whether the exemption granted (for loyalty agreements) to Foodpanda in April 2019 for the period of three years is impeding competition in any manner in light of concerns highlighted by various market players.

    The CCP launched the investigation on the formal complaints filed by Foodpanda’s competitor M/s. Cheetay Logistics Pakistan Limited on May 04, 2021, and the All Pakistan Restaurant Association (APRA) on June 10, 2021. Formerly, a complaint was also filed by another online food aggregator, Careem Networks Pakistan (Private) Limited, pertaining to the exemption granted to same aggregator in 2019.

    The CCP’s Cartel and Trade Abuse Department conducted a preliminary fact-finding exercise and found that Foodpanda seems to have a dominant position in the market of online food delivery platforms with a considerable amount of admitted volume of 100,000 per day food orders from different restaurants/outlets/food chains across the country. Regarding the alleged abuse of dominant position, the concerns include: charging exorbitant commissions; offering fidelity rebates; discriminatory practices; setting out various discounts to exploit participants; and entering into exclusivity with parties through loyalty agreements.

    These concerns stretch the scope of abuse to being a barrier for the new entrants in the market of online food delivery platforms.

    The enquiry committee has already been working on the case, consulting all the concerned parties and seeking relevant information for deliberating the matter objectively, the CCP said.

    Findings of the enquiry upon conclusion will be placed before the commission for its decision.

  • NCCPL excludes Hascol Petroleum from list of eligible securities

    NCCPL excludes Hascol Petroleum from list of eligible securities

    KARACHI: National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) on Monday excluded M/s. Hascol Petroleum from the list of eligible securities after the stock exchange placed the oil company into defaulter segment.

    The NCCPL said that this is with reference to Pakistan Stock Exchange Notice No. PSX/N-781 dated: June 25, 2021, regarding placement of M/s. Hascol Petroleum Limited (“HASCOL”) in the Defaulter’s segment with effective from Monday, June 28, 2021.

    This event leads to action under Clauses 7A.3.5 and 7B.3.1.4 of NCCPL Regulations, 2015 that has been reproduced below for ready reference;

    “Where a Security that has been quoted on the defaulter’s segment of the Exchange and notified to the Company, such Security shall not be eligible for trading in the SLB Market from the date it has been placed on the defaulter segment. However, all open SLB Contracts shall be released on Accelerated Maturity Date and/or Maturity Date as the case may be.”

    “In case where such Security is reinstated during the review period, trading in SLB Market shall not be allowed during that review period.” (Regulations 7A.3.5)

    “Where a Security that have been quoted on the Defaulter segment of the Exchange and notified to the Company, such Security shall not be made available on MF Market from the date it has been placed on the defaulter segment. However, all MF (R) Transactions shall be released as per the terms and conditions defined in the Margin Financing Agreement between MF Participants.”

    “In case where such Security is reinstated during the review period, trading in MF Market shall not be allowed during that review period.” (Regulations 7B.3.1.4)

    Where a MT Eligible Security that have been quoted on the defaulter segment of the Exchange and notified to the Company, such Security shall not be eligible for trading in the MT Market from the date it has been placed on the Defaulter segment. However, all open MT Contracts shall be released on Accelerated Maturity Date and/or Maturity Date as the case may be.

    In case where such Security is reinstated during the review period, trading in MT Market shall not be allowed during that review period. (Regulations 7C.3.2 (15)

    Accordingly, in pursuance of provisions stipulated in the above referred clauses of NCCPL Regulations, 2015, M/s. Hascol Petroleum Limited shall be excluded from the list of SLB Eligible Securities, MF Eligible Securities and MTS eligible Securities with effect from Monday, June 28, 2021.

  • Beverage Cans IPO oversubscribed three times; raises Rs4.6 billion

    Beverage Cans IPO oversubscribed three times; raises Rs4.6 billion

    KARACHI: The book-building phase of Pakistan Aluminium Beverage Cans Ltd (PABC)’s Initial Public Offer (IPO) has concluded with an oversubscription of 3.3 times, the company said on Wednesday.

    The IPO received an overwhelming response from institutional investors and high-net worth individuals as the strike price clocked in at Rs 49/share, 40 percent higher than the floor price of Rs 35, country’s only Beverage Can manufacturer said.

    PABC has raised Rs 4.6 billion in total, making it the second largest IPO in the Private-Sector.

    “The response to the book building has been phenomenal,” said Shahid Habib CEO of Arif Habib Ltd, Advisor and Book Runner of the Issue.

    Several brokerages had issued almost unanimous calls to ‘subscribe,’ which resulted in investor demand amounting to Rs 10.8 billion against the IPO’s book-building size of Rs 3.3 billion.

    The general public will subscribe to 23.4 million shares (25 percent of the total offer size) on June 29/30 at the strike price of Rs 49, the company said.

    Azam Sakrani, CEO Pakistan Aluminium Beverage Cans Ltd, in his statement thanked the institutions and individuals investors for showing interest and trust in PABC and assured that their investment in company would yield greater dividends.

    The company started its operations in 2017 as the country’s only local manufacturer of aluminum beverage cans.

    PABC supplies beverage Can to the bottlers of all major carbonated drinks, including PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Exports to Afghanistan constituted 35 per cent of the company’s sales in calendar year 2020.

    Established on a 20.9-acre piece of land in Faisalabad’s Special Economic Zone with a current rated capacity of 700 million cans per annum, PABC continues to enjoy a 10-year tax holiday. The company is increasing its rated capacity by almost 36 per cent to 950 million cans per annum by July next year.

    It has grown its revenue at an annualised rate of 18.7 percent in the last five years. In the third full year of its operation (2020), the company’s net profit amounted to Rs 610.7 million, up 314 per cent from 2019. It expects its bottom line to grow at 140 per cent in 2021.

  • Beverage Cans plans to raise Rs3.3 billion in Initial Public Offering

    Beverage Cans plans to raise Rs3.3 billion in Initial Public Offering

    KARACHI: Pakistan Aluminium Beverage Cans Ltd (PABC) is planning to raise at least Rs 3.3 billion by offering a 26 per cent stake to institutional and ordinary investors in an initial public offer (IPO) on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

    Book building will take place on June 22 and 23, followed by public subscription on June 29 and 30, a statement said on Friday.

    The entire offer of 93.8 million ordinary shares, or 26 per cent of the post-IPO shareholding, will be offered through the book-building process at a floor price of Rs35 per share. Successful bidders will be provisionally allotted only 75 per cent of the issue size and the remaining shares will be offered to the retail investors at the strike price.

    It means PABC will raise at least Rs3.3 billion in the IPO. But based on the interest from investors during the book building process, the strike price can rise by 40 percent (Rs49 a share), thus helping the company collect Rs4.6 billion.

    Ashmore Mauritius PABC Ltd, a specialist emerging markets investment manager based in Mauritius, currently holds 51 per cent shareholding in the company while Liberty Group, a leading player in textile and power sectors, owns the remaining 49 per cent stake. With the exit of Ashmore post-IPO, Liberty Group, general public and Soorty Enterprises will own 54 per cent, 26 per cent and 20 per cent shareholding in the company.

    The company started its operations in 2017 as the country’s only local manufacturer of aluminum beverage cans. Until then, bottlers in Pakistan and Afghanistan relied on expensive imports to package their beverages in environment-friendly aluminum cans.

    PABC supplies to the bottlers of all major carbonated drinks, including PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Exports to Afghanistan constituted 35 per cent of the company’s sales in calendar year 2020.

    Established on a 20.9-acre piece of land in Faisalabad’s Special Economic Zone with a current rated capacity of 700 million cans per annum, PABC continues to enjoy a 10-year tax holiday. The company is increasing its rated capacity by almost 36 per cent to 950 million cans per annum by July next year.

    It has grown its revenue at an annualised rate of 18.7 per cent in the last five years. In the third full year of its operation (2020), the company’s net profit amounted to Rs610.7 million, up 314 per cent from 2019. It expects its bottom line to grow at 140 per cent in 2021.

    Euromonitor International puts the size of Pakistan’s soft drinks market at 3.8 billion litres per annum. It expects the market to grow at a five-year annualised rate of seven per cent to reach 5.3 billion litres in 2025 on the back of rising purchasing power, urbanisation and favorable demographics.

    With the estimated market size of 275 million cans, aluminium beverage cans in Pakistan account for only 3.6 per cent of total soft drinks sales as opposed to the global average of 19 per cent.

    Growing can penetration may increase their sales to 650 million cans by 2025, delivering an annualised  growth rate of 19 per year. PABC will be its key beneficiary as the can imports are virtually non-existent due to high freight costs and duties.

    PBAC’s biggest export market is Afghanistan as the country does not have local beverage glass manufacturing facilities. It commands over 50 per cent market share, thanks to its contracts with key beverage bottlers, including franchisees of Coca-Cola and Pepsi, in Afghanistan.

    In addition, PBAC recently signed agreements and initiated exports to leading beverage players in the United States. North America accounts for more than one-third of the global consumption of aluminium cans mainly because of the environmental concerns.  The company is also in discussion with key beverage bottlers in Bangladesh and Iraq.