ISL sees sharp decline in nine-month profit

April 24, 2025 (MLN): International Steels Limited (PSX: ISL) reported a sharp decline in profitability for the nine months ended March 31, 2025, with net profit after taxation falling to Rs951.3 million, a drop of 68.89% compared to Rs3.06 billion during the same period last year.

The company’s revenue from contracts with customers declined by 18.46%, falling from Rs56.02bn to Rs45.67bn.

Cost of sales also decreased by 13.70% to Rs42.11bn, which resulted in a significant reduction in gross profit—down 50.62% to Rs3.57bn from Rs7.23bn in the previous year.

Selling and distribution expenses saw a notable decrease of 39.28%, while administrative expenses remained largely unchanged, increasing marginally by 1.01%.

Total operating expenses declined by 32.58%, but operating profit still dropped sharply by 57.79% to Rs2.18bn.

Finance costs rose by 24.23% to Rs692.96m, while other expenses saw a slight decrease of 8.49%. The combined burden of finance and other expenses increased by 7.93%.

On the other hand, other income surged by 77.92%, reaching Rs530.4m, which provided some support to the bottom line.

Profit before taxation stood at Rs1.51bn, reflecting a 65.27% decline year-on-year. Taxation expenses were also down by 56.74%, yet this was not enough to offset the steep fall in profits.

Earnings per share for the period were recorded at Rs2.19, compared to Rs7.03 in the corresponding period of the previous year.