Construction work of the remaining 60-kilometer portion of Hyderabad-Karachi Motorway (M-9) project would be completed this month.
An official of National Highway Authority (NHA) told Radio Pakistan that the route is being upgraded into a 6-lane.
The 75-kilometer first section of the 136-km Hyderabad-Karachi Motorway was opened for traffic in February this year.
October 25, 2021 (MLN): Extending its winning streak, gold rates on Monday increased in the domestic market as the price of 24-karat gold reached a new high of Rs127,800 per tola, up by Rs600 when compared to Rs127,200 per tola recorded the previous day.
According to data provided by Karachi Sarafa and Jewellers Association, the price of 10-gram of 24k gold also went up by Rs515 and was traded at Rs109,568 while the 10gm 22k gold was valued at Rs100,437.
On the other hand, the price of 24-karat silver and 10-gram of 24-karat silver remained unchanged at Rs1,470 and Rs1,260.28, respectively.
In the international market, the gold prices climbed by $9 to reach $1,802 an ounce due to the weak dollar. The dollar index was low, making the yellow metal more attractive for buyers holding other currencies. Similarly, the silver rate moved up to $24.43 an ounce.
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October 25, 2021: Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere reached record levels last year, the United Nations said Monday in a stark warning ahead of the COP26 summit about worsening global warming.
The UN's World Meteorological Organization said that continued rising greenhouse gas emissions would result in more extreme weather and wide-ranging impacts on the environment, the economy and humanity.
The WMO said the economic slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic triggered a temporary decline in new emissions, but had no discernible impact on the atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases and their growth rates.
The organisation's Greenhouse Gas Bulletin said the annual rate of increase last year was above the yearly average between 2011 and 2020 -- and the trend continued in 2021.
The WMO said that as long as emissions continue, global temperatures will continue to rise.
And given the long life of carbon dioxide (CO2), the temperature level already observed will persist for several decades even if emissions are rapidly reduced to net zero.
The UN Climate Change Conference COP26 is being held in the Scottish city Glasgow from October 31 to November 12.
"The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin contains a stark, scientific message for climate change negotiators at COP26," said WMO chief Petteri Taalas.
"At the current rate of increase in greenhouse gas concentrations, we will see a temperature increase by the end of this century far in excess of the Paris Agreement targets of 1.5 to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
AFP/APP
October 25, 2021 (MLN): DG Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC) has announced its financial results for the first quarter of FY22 ended on September 30, 2021 today where the company witnessed a remarkable turnaround as the profit after tax clocked in at Rs1.13 billion (EPS: Rs2.33), against a loss of Rs293.66 million in 1QFY21.
Going by the financial statement sent to PSX, the sales of the company stood at Rs11.99bn, witnessing an upsurge of 5.75% YoY in 1QFY22 mainly on the back of improved retention price. while, a 6% YoY decline in cost of sales pushed gross profit to Rs2.39bn, compared to Rs1.13bn in the same period last year.
Moreover, the other income of the company was boosted by 5.5x to clocked in at Rs557.24mn in 1QFY22 as banks, holding in MCB did not pay a dividend in the same quarter last year amid State Bank policy restricting payouts to conserve capital given the onset of coronavirus, a report by Arif Habib Limited noted.
The financial cost of the company dropped by around 6% YoY to Rs782.6mn in the said period, attributable to the lower borrowing.
During the said period, the effective tax rate for the company clocked in at 22.36% against the tax credit of Rs59.72bn in SPLY.
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October 25, 2021 (MLN): The mounting external pressure including the inconclusive IMF talks and soaring global energy prices have further dragged the Pakistani rupee (PKR) to its another all-time low as the domestic currency settled the day’s trade at PKR 174.43, depreciating by 42 paisa against the greenback.
In the previous session, the local unit closed the trade at PKR 174 per USD.
“Delay in IMF announcement is not helping. In the absence of SBP, the seasonal tendency of softer PKR has stretched far beyond for too long,” Asad Rizvi, the former Treasury Head at Chase Manhattan said.
The rupee traded in a range of 65 paisa per USD showing an intraday high bid of 174.55 and an intraday Low offer of 173.90.
The domestic unit has depreciated by 9.68% or PKR 16.88 in the fiscal year-to-date against the USD. Similarly, the rupee has weakened by 8.37% or PKR 14.59 in CY21, with the month-to-date (MTD) position showing a decline of 2.16%, as per the data gathered by Mettis Global.
Within the Open Market, PKR was traded at 173.30/175.00 per USD.
Meanwhile, the currency lost 27 paisa to the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 240.47 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 240.2 per GBP.
Similarly, PKR's value weakened by 96 paisa against EUR which closed at PKR 203.42 at the interbank today.
On another note, within the money market, the overnight repo rate towards the close of the session was 7.50/7.70 percent, whereas the 1-week rate was 7.40/7.45 percent.
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October 25, 2021 (MLN): Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited (FFBL), the country’s sole DAP producer, has unveiled its nine-month financial results wherein the company posted a consolidated net profit of Rs5.96 billion (EPS: Rs4.41) compared to a net profit of Rs24.41mn in the same period a year ago.
This splendid performance is mainly due to increased DAP sale price, higher other income due to increase in the share of profit from associated companies coupled with lower finance cost amid lower mark-up rates.
The company has achieved a consolidated net turnover of Rs81.64bn which is 34% higher as compared to the same period last year’s turnover of Rs61bn due to the hike in DAP prices.
Apart from that, since the rabi season has arrived, the demand for DAP has also been increased, as per the research note by Darson Securities. Resultantly, the gross margins of the company during the said period scaled up from 17% to 24%.
On the cost front, distribution and selling expenses stood at Rs4.8bn, up by 10.5% YoY while administrative expenses inched up by 2.7% to clock in at nearly R1.44bn during 9MCY21.
The positive impact of lower mark-up rates, efficient capital management, and lower utilization of running finance facilities was visibly seen in financial cost which plunged by 45.6% YoY to Rs3.69bn in the said period.
Furthermore, the company saw a 28% increase in the income received from a share of profit of associates and joint ventures during 9MCY21, most likely due to gain recorded on account of the sale of Foundation Wind Energy I & II.
Meanwhile, the company has expensed out Rs971mn on account of the unwinding of GIDC liability during the review period.
On the taxation front, the company paid Rs2.88bn, showing a two-fold increase against the taxes paid in SPLY.
Alongside the financial results, the Board of Directors of FFBL also approved and authorized the Company to subscribe to 527,015,064 shares (the "FFBL Right Shares") of Fauji Foods Limited ("FFL") for the total price of Rs5,270,150,640 (calculated at the rate of Rs10 (Pakistani Rupees Ten) per share), as part of the Company's entitlement to FFL's rights issue
The company has also been authorized to subscribe to the Fauji Foundation's ("FF") renounced portion of FFL's rights issue. i.e., 65.484.936 shares (the "FF Right Shares") for a total price of Rs654.849.360.
In each case, by utilizing the total subordinated debt of Rs5.925 billion (the "Principal Amount of Debt"), granted by the Company to FFL. which utilization of the Principal Amount of Debt for acquiring shares has also been previously approved by the shareholders of the Company.
Consolidated Profit and Loss for the Nine months ended September 2021 ('000 Rupees) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep-21 | Sep-20 | % Change |
Sales-net | 81,637,097 | 60,915,183 | 34.0% |
Cost of Sales | (61,714,177) | (50,330,916) | 22.6% |
Gross Profit | 19,922,920 | 10,584,267 | 88.2% |
Selling and distribution cost | (4,803,228) | (4,344,961) | 10.5% |
Administrative expenses | (1,439,419) | (1,401,747) | 2.7% |
| 13,680,273 | 4,837,559 | 182.8% |
Finance costs | (3,690,902) | (6,782,870) | -45.6% |
Unwinding of GIDC payable | (971,674) | - |
|
Other operating expenses | (5,065,436) | (406,946) | 1144.7% |
Other income |
|
|
|
Share of profit of associates and joint venture- net | 3,695,720 | 2,887,798 | 28.0% |
Others | 1,189,144 | 794,094 | 49.7% |
Profit before taxation | 8,837,125 | 1,329,635 | 564.6% |
Taxation-net | (2,876,717) | (1,305,222) | 120.4% |
Profit after taxation | 5,960,408 | 24,413 | 24314.9% |
Earnings per share - basic and diluted (Rupees) | 4.41 | 0.33 | 1236.4% |
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