October 16, 2018 (MLN): Pakistan International Container Terminal Limited witnessed a drop in their profits by 28% owing to decreased top-line earnings and increased expenses for the nine months ended September 2018 as compared to the corresponding period last year.
According to the report on financial earnings issued to the PSX, the plunge came as a result of a fall in sales revenue by almost Rs. 1 billion i.e. 14% less as compared to last year.
Moreover, the decrease in cost of services by Rs. 238 million failed to drive the gross profits up, letting it nose-dive by 23%.
Even though some of the major expenses including other expenses (-90%) and Finance cost (-94%) exhibited a collective decline of 50 million, the decrease in other income by almost Rs. 34 million fairly annulled the effect of decrease in expenses on the profits.
Likewise, the decrease in taxes by Rs. 214 million i.e. 20%, failed to pull up the profits of the company.
The Earnings per ordinary share decreased by almost 28% as compared to the corresponding period last year.
The Company announced an interim cash dividend of Rs. 6 per share i.e. 60%, for the quarter ended 30th September 2018. This is in addition to Interim Dividend already paid at Rs. 7.5 per share i.e. 75%.
Financial Results For The Nine Months Ended September 30th 2018 (Rupees in '000)
July 02, 2022 (MLN): FY22 proved to be a tumultuous year for Pakistan’s stock market as the benchmark KSE-100 index posted a negative return of 12.3%, which was the lowest after FY19 when the index delivered a return of -19%.
While on the back of hefty PKR depreciation of Rs47.30 or 23.09% YoY during FY22, the dollar-adjusted return clocked in at -32.54%, making the KSE-100 index one of the worst-performing indices in the region.
To recall, last year, the bourse had an upward move of 37.6% (46% in USD terms), the highest after FY14.
Reviewing the year-long pattern shows that tough political and economic conditions since the start of FY22 with the change of political set-up during the month of April’22 along with external financing issues due to freezing of the IMF program amid elevated commodity prices brought uncertainty to the market. In addition, the transition from the Emerging Market to a Frontier Market also put pressure on the bourse.
Adding to the woes, foreign exchange reserves started depleting, with the Pak Rupee losing significant ground against the USD and touching an all-time low of 211 per USD in Jun’22. Moreover, concerns over the inflation outlook pushed SBP to resume stern monetary tightening this year as the current policy rate of 13.75% is the highest since Jun’11. As a result, the bourse had a downward move over the year, it touched a peak of 47,356, with a low of 40,555, and closed at 41,541 points level, making the total change for the year at a loss of 5,815 points.
A closer look reveals that the last month of FY22 has been the most difficult month for the Pakistan stock market. Although Pakistan is edging closer to the IMF program, investors’ sentiments remained low due to persistent current account deficit, higher inflation figures and the government’s attempt to broaden the tax net in the FY23 budget in order to comply with IMF requirements. To note, the new corporate taxation measures affect nearly 13 sectors in the listed space, representing 80% market capitalization of the KSE100 Index. Subsequently, the KSE-100 index lost 3.6% or 1,537 points, with turnover thinning out even further.
Sector-wise analysis reveals that the major downside to the benchmark KSE-100 index came from Cement with 2,359 points followed by Technology and Banks with 946 points and 506 points respectively. In particular, the scrips of LUCK (-1,113 pts), TRG (-1,014 pts), HBL (-423 pts), DGKC (-286 pts), and UNITY (-269 pts) turned out to be the most disappointing ones.
On the other hand, Fertilizer, Chemical, Miscellaneous, Automobile and Real Estate emerged as the best-performing sectors during FY22, as they added around 778, 501, 290, 180, and 52 points respectively to the benchmark index. To be specific, the scrips of EFERT (528 pts), EPCL (407 pts), MTL (368 pts), FFC (320 pts), and PSEL (318 pts) turned out to be the most pleasing ones.
Meanwhile, the All-Share Market Cap decreased by nearly Rs1.34 trillion, i.e., 16.16% lower than FY21.
Flow-wise, foreigners have continued on their selling spree, offloading $297.5mn worth of equities during the year compared to $387.34mn which was the highest since FY17.
On the other end of the spectrum, Individuals, companies, and Banks remained the aggressive buyers as they purchased $157.2mn, $115.2mn, and $111mn worth of equities, respectively. However, Mutual Funds and Brokers reduced their exposure by around $128.2mn, and $20mn, respectively. Insurance Companies too reduced their exposure by around $1.15mn during FY22.
Outlook:
The removal of cash subsidy, imposition of a levy on petroleum products and increase in budget revenue targets has increased the probability of resumption of the IMF program which will rebuild investors’ confidence and provide much-needed certainty to the capital market in the coming months.
Moreover, the current account deficit is also expected to narrow down in FY23 due to economic slowdown and measures taken by the government to curb imports of non-essential items, providing respite to the market.
Another key area of respite could emerge from softening global commodity prices over inflation suppressing global demand.
Jul 01, 2022: Minister of State for Energy Mohammad Hashim Notezai on Friday said that additional 5,000 megawatts electricity would be added in the system by March 2023.
Addressing the people during an open katcheri at Circuit House Khuzdar, the minister deplored that due to unavailability of fuel, 5739 MW capacity is cut off, with fuel’s availability, this will start working and will be added into the main grid.
“Due to increasing heat energy crisis has intensified in the country", he said and gave credit to the incumbent government for its timely measures and making 3,000 MW available to the public.
The minister apprised that the government has inked an agreement with Iran for supplying 100 MW power to Makran division in Balochistan.
He appealed to the customers to submit their bills on time and cooperate with the QESCO for uninterrupted supply of electricity.
Deputy Commissioner Khuzdar Major retired Muhammad Ilyas Kabzai, SSP Javed Iqbal Gharshin and Assistant Commissioner Jahanzeb Shahwani, were also present.
July 1, 2022: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has uploaded the Income Tax Return forms for tax year-2022, a press release issued said today.
Separate Income Tax Return forms for Salaried, Association of Persons (AOPs), Business Individuals, and Companies have been uploaded. The Income Tax Returns can be filed through FBR's Web Portal (Iris System), and Tax Asaan application.
In a press statement, FBR has further stated that taxpayers are provided complete guidance about filling all the required particulars in the form. The Income Tax Returns can be filed online also through smartphones by installing the Tax Aasaan application from Google Play Store/App Store.
However, to maximize general awareness, a media campaign will soon be launched for taxpayers' facilitation and public awareness.
The Salaried/ Business Individuals & AOPs can file their Income Tax Returns by 30th September 2022 whereas companies can file Income Tax Returns according to their due dates.
July 1, 2022: In light of the ongoing power supply constraints, K-Electric today announced a rationalized load-shed schedule for its customers. The revised schedule is effective July 1, 2022. This step is being taken to provide relief to customers experiencing night-time load-shed in high-loss areas.
The shortfall in KE territory has increased from an average of 250 MW – 350 MW to almost 450 MW – 500 MW due to rising temperatures and curtailed fuel supply. Moreover, the shortfall persists round the clock making the nighttime load shed unavoidable. KE is also facing a power supply constraint due to reduced gas supplies from SSGC, which is down to approximately 90 MMCFD versus the 200 MMCFD gas that was supplied last year.
Consequently, two plants in KE's system, one at SITE and one at Korangi, with a combined generation of 200MW, remain non-operational. The release of KE dues from the government against tariff claims will enable KE to pay fuel suppliers in full and negotiate for more gas.
As per KE Spokesperson, “This revision in timing is in line with our discussion with various stakeholders including the Ministry of Energy Sindh as well as Commissioner Karachi. We are making every endeavour to seek support in mitigating these issues. Unfortunately, at this time there is a power shortfall at the national level as well as a shortage of gas and RLNG in the country. We are grateful to the Minister of Energy Imtiaz Sheikh for his pledge to solicit additional power and gas to further reduce the night-time load-shed. In the meanwhile, and due to limited and finite energy sources, we have redistributed the load-shed timings amongst the customers.”
"The updated schedule of the new load shed regime has been made publicly available on KE's website. Consumers can use their account numbers to find their individual schedules. KE is also duly communicating to registered consumers via KE's SMS service. With that said, the uninterrupted power supply will continue to feeders powering Karachi’s industrial zones and strategic feeders including those energizing KWSB and strategic installations such as Karachi Airport," the spokesperson added.
The load-shed schedule in place is applicable on a daily recurring basis. Interruptions in power supply due to necessary maintenance on the network, or due to technical faults should not be equated with load-shed. KE teams remain active to rectify known issues. Any customer-facing an outage of more than 30 to 40 minutes outside of their load-shed timings is requested to check their KE Live app for an update on their power status; KE’s call center 118 also remains available 24/7.
With reports of protests being received from across the city, spokesperson KE stated, “This is a difficult time for the country in terms of the power supply situation. Global economic challenges are creating vulnerabilities in the fuel supply chain, which is also affecting K-Electric. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience being caused to our consumers. While we recognize the right to protest, at the same time we request our citizens to maintain peace. Over the last 30 days, various KE offices have been the target of protests, which are impairing KE’s ability to conduct its operations in the city.”
KE continues to closely monitor the system, adjust and communicate any changes as may be necessary. The utility appeals to the citizens of Karachi to limit the impact of the shortages by continuing to reduce the usage of electricity by at least 20% and switching off all non-essential items.
Sharing a recent power supply update to the city, the KE spokesperson in their message via social media also shared, "Total average power supply in KE's service territory was around 2900MW on 30th June 2022."
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