Lucky Core Industries declares Rs33 per share dividend

August 06, 2024 (MLN): Lucky Core Industries Limited (PSX: LCI) rebounded in the second quarter of 2024, recording a profit after tax of  Rs3.21 billion [EPS: Rs34.73] compared to a loss of Rs861.89 million [LPS: Rs9.33] in the same period last year (SPLY).

For the financial year ending June 2024, PAT and EPS clocked in at Rs11.14bn Rs120.62 respectively. That is 19% lower than the SPLY.

Excluding the impact of the aforesaid one-off gain from the divestment of NMPL shares in the SPLY, PAT and EPS would have been higher by 41% mainly on account of higher operating results and other income derived from short-term investments, the comapn ysaid in a stock filing on Tuesday.

Along with the results, the company announced an interim cash dividend of Rs33 per share for the year ended June 2024.

This is in addition to the interim cash dividend of Rs27 per share already paid.

Going by the quarterly results, the company's top line remained largely unchanged at Rs29.18bn compared to SPLY.

While the cost of sales fell by 3.4% YoY, improving the gross profit by 12.5% YoY to Rs7.08bn in Q2 2024.

The gross margins increased to 24.3% as compared to 21.6% in SPLY.

During the period under review, other income went down by 10.7% YoY to stand at Rs918.43m in Q2 2024 as compared to Rs1.03bn in SPLY.

On the expense side, the company's administrative expenses fell 13.0% YoY to Rs584.18m, selling and distribution expenses rose 40.0% YoY to Rs1.95bn, and other operating expenses fell 40.0% YoY to Rs231.35m.

The company’s finance cost shrunk 21.6% YoY and stood at Rs804.28m as compared to Rs1.03bn in SPLY.

On the tax front, the company paid a lower tax worth Rs1.21bn against the Rs4.8bn paid in the corresponding period of last year, depicting a fall of 74.7% YoY.

During the year, the company's business operations continued to encounter significant macroeconomic challenges, it said.

High tax rates, monetary tightening due to historically high interest rates, and hike in energy costs resulted in a slowdown in domestic economic activity across various sectors.

With average inflation at 23.41% during the year under review, the cost of doing business increased significantly.

These challenges negatively impacted consumer purchasing power resulting in decreased demand across key segments of the economy.

The company said it navigated through these challenges during the year on the back of optimum capacity utilization, effective margin management, and continued focus on operational efficiencies.

Amount in thousand except for EPS

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