Century Paper's 3MFY25 profit plunges to Rs13m

October 27, 2025 (MLN): Century Paper & Board Mills Limited (PSX: CEPB) reported a profit after tax of Rs13.3m for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, down 91% from Rs147.3m in the corresponding quarter last year.

Earnings per share declined 91.9% to Rs0.03 compared to Rs0.37 in 3MFY24.

Net turnover increased 5% year-on-year to Rs10.64bn from Rs10.13bn, demonstrating modest revenue growth during the quarter. Cost of sales rose 10.5% to Rs10.06bn from Rs9.1bn.

Gross profit plunged 43.8% to Rs579.5m against Rs1.03bn in 3MFY24, with the gross margin contracting sharply to 5.4% from 10.2% in the prior year quarter, reflecting significantly higher input costs relative to sales growth.

General and administrative expenses increased 5.5% to Rs287.2m, while selling expenses declined marginally by 0.2% to Rs27.2m. Distribution expenses decreased 28.5% to Rs34m from Rs47.6m last year.

Other operating charges decreased marginally by 1% to Rs8.5m from Rs8.6m. Other income declined 13.5% to Rs86.8m from Rs100.2m in 3MFY24.

The company recorded an operating profit of Rs307.4m, down 59.4% from Rs757.2m in 3MFY24.

Finance costs decreased 44.5% to Rs283m from Rs510.2m in the previous year, providing some relief to the bottom line.

Profit before income tax and minimum tax differential stood at Rs24.4m, down 90.1% from Rs247m in 3MFY24. Minimum tax differential stood at Rs126.5m in 3MFY25, which was absent in the prior period.

Loss/profit before income tax stood at a loss of Rs102.1m compared to a profit of Rs247.0m in 3MFY24.

Total taxation stood at Rs115.4m compared to Rs99.7m last year.

The company concluded 3MFY25 with a net profit of Rs13.3m, delivering a net profit margin of 0.1% compared to 1.5% in 3MFY24. The profit decline was driven by severe margin compression due to substantially higher cost of sales, partially offset by lower finance costs.

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