Industry - BR Research - Business Recorder

Industry

Startup Investment Rise to $77M in Pakistan

Startup investments in Pakistan increased by 97 percent in 2020 as compared to 2019, according to data from MAGNiTT's 'State of Startup Funding - 2021 Emerging Venture Markets' Report.
The number of startup deals in Pakistan also went up by 45% this year as opposed to the general downward trend in the MENA region.

Published 21 Jan, 2021 07:27pm

Industry

India's TCS reports higher profit as remote work drives cloud demand

The results kick off India's corporate earnings season for the December-quarter, a seasonally weak period for the software industry.
Growing demand for core transformation services ... have driven a powerful momentum that helped us overcome seasonal headwinds.

Published 08 Jan, 2021 06:28pm

Industry

Italy court dismisses Iliad's request to scrap Fastweb-Wind Tre 5G deal

Iliad, Italy's fourth-largest mobile phone player, filed a complaint a year ago, saying the deal - which received the green light by both the industry minister.
The court argued Iliad did not have the right to ask the annulment of a commercial agreement between two private companies.

Published 08 Jan, 2021 06:20pm

Industry

M&S clothing sales cut by British lockdown measures

Clothing and home sales down 25.1% in its third quarter.
Food sales in the quarter rise 2.2%.
M&S says near term trading "very challenging".
Says progress with turnaround masked by COVID-19 effects.
Shares down 2.3%, down 29% on year.

Published 08 Jan, 2021 04:47pm

Industry

Chile says consumer prices rose 0.3pc in December

Inflation registered an increase in the 12 months to December of 3.0%, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said.
In its December Monetary Policy Report (IPoM), the agency estimated that inflation would reach 2.8% in 2020.

Published 08 Jan, 2021 04:40pm

Industry

PIA suspends flights to/from KSA for one week

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has temporarily suspended its flights to/from Saudi Arabia for a week...

Updated 22 Dec, 2020 04:03am

Industry

Careem reduces its commission in support of restaurants

KARACHI: Careem, the super app of the Middle East and Pakistan, has announced to slash its restaurant commission...

Published 13 Dec, 2020 02:44am

Industry

Boeing 787 delivery dry spell adds to 737 MAX woes

Jet deliveries are being closely scrutinized by investors as they generate much-needed cash during the coronavirus crisis.
Boeing's closely watched monthly orders and deliveries snapshot comes five days after Ireland's Ryanair booked a December order for 75 737 MAX jets.

Published 09 Dec, 2020 02:06am

Industry

Airbus delivered 64 jets in November, down 34pc so far this year

Deliveries included seven wide-body A350 jets and 56 single-aisle jets including 54 of the main A320neo narrow-body family.
Deliveries are being closely scrutinized by investors as they generate much-needed cash during the coronavirus crisis.

Published 08 Dec, 2020 12:50am

Industry

Int'l virtual textile exhibition in Feb '21

KARACHI: Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) is going to arrange first international virtual textile...

Published 02 Dec, 2020 02:49am

Industry

Pakistan’s Exports Rise by 7.2 pc amidst Pandemic: Razak Dawood

Pakistan's exports increase by 7.2 percent during the month of November 2020 as compared to the same period last year, according to Razak Dawood.

Published 01 Dec, 2020 11:05pm

Industry

60pc of Balochistan is without Internet Coverage.

A province-wise breakdown of the Economist Intelligence Unit's Internet Inclusiveness Index indicates that 60 percent of Balochistan is not covered by the internet.

Updated 01 Dec, 2020 03:28pm

Industry

Airline industry to suffer $314bn losses amid COVID-19

With about 70 percent of global capacity idled, the airline industry stands to lose $314 billion in ticket sales th

Updated 21 May, 2020 11:40pm

Industry

‘Tis the season…

And it really is. Cement sales—despite all the negative reporting about economic fatigue, manufacturing recession, deman

Published 04 Dec, 2019 07:21am

Industry

Cement: To the north!

Total sales in the Jul-Oct period for the cement industry as a whole has grown by 4 percent compared to the period last

Updated 11 Nov, 2019 11:40am

Industry

Cement finding confidence

Though cement demand is not catapulating, there are clear signs that market is becoming slightly more confident, and the

Updated 06 Nov, 2019 06:04am

Industry

Cement: Survival or revival—II?

Wake me up when September ends; so the song goes. And it seems construction demand may have just woken up after a prolon

Updated 23 Oct, 2019 01:01pm

Industry

ISL: screaming all signs of manufacturing recession

The economic planners of the country must cherish Pakistan’s moth-eaten manufacturing base in secret. At least that’s th

Updated 18 Oct, 2019 08:18am

Industry

Attock: humble beginnings

Despite closing FY19 a touch better than many of its peers in the cement industry, it was long decided that Attock Cemen

Updated 16 Oct, 2019 06:48am

Industry

Exports: barely rescuing cement

Cement companies don’t have a choice but to lend focus to exports, but it seems, even there they have few offerings

Updated 23 Oct, 2019 01:54pm

Industry

Cements plunge!

The cement industry had a troubling FY19 but the blows are still coming. Cement companies saw that profitability came do

Updated 07 Oct, 2019 07:19am

Industry

Kohat on thick ice

Kohat Cement (PSX: KOHC) is one of those rare companies that are small in size but can still fare a storm when it hits t

Updated 23 Oct, 2019 01:41pm

Industry

Cement’s cost of borrowing

Back in 2016 when the CPEC had just been signed and the economy was visibly booming with government development spending

Updated 27 Sep, 2019 06:02am

Industry

Auto sales: the invisible hand appears

Predictably, car demand has plummeted as we kick of FY20. Auto makers had been raising prices every few months citing ru

Updated 19 Sep, 2019 11:42am

Industry

DGKC is not looking back!

Even as DG Khan Cement’s (PSX: DGKC) unconsolidated earnings shrink by 82 percent in FY19 (from a solid Rs8.8 billion to

Updated 18 Sep, 2019 06:51am

Industry

Global coal markets in distress

Coal customers should stock up—which includes coal-fired power generating companies here and abroad as well as cemen

Updated 05 Sep, 2019 07:26am

Industry

Cement’s inverted U-turn

As cement companies consolidate their annual financial results, two things are certain. They would not be boosting very

Updated 03 Sep, 2019 05:20am

Industry

Cement: (lack of) confidence signaling

Unlike big automakers like Indus Motors that have historically distributed over 70 percent of their earnings to sharehol

Updated 30 Aug, 2019 05:06am

Industry

Tough six months at Nestlé Pakistan

Nestlé Pakistan announced its financial results for 1HCY19 continuing with its high dividend payout – announcing Rs90/sh

Updated 27 Aug, 2019 06:49am

Industry

Manufacturing recession!

Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) has made headlines again; people are talking about how it is the first ever contraction

Published 22 Aug, 2019 06:22am

Industry

ISL: (Not) on a roll

Despite a decent 16 percent growth in its overall revenue, the flat steel manufacturer International Steels Limited (PSX

Published 20 Aug, 2019 05:36am

Industry

Bestway’s FY19: as best as it could

Bestway Cement (PSX: BWCL) dominates not only the north zone of the country but also the entire industry in terms of cap

Published 16 Aug, 2019 06:15am

Industry

Anatomy of sugar milling in Sindh

The political economy of Sindh has over the last decade become synonymous with sugar milling business. Stories of overla

Published 08 Aug, 2019 08:11am

Industry

Cherat: worth two in the bush?

Despite a somber finish to a shaky start, some lucky breaks notwithstanding, Cherat has given Rs1 per share in dividend

Published 08 Aug, 2019 07:51am

Industry

JDW: high debt servicing ruins party

What constitutes a stellar financial performance at the time of economic slowdown? Pakistan’s top sugar milling company,

Published 01 Aug, 2019 06:20am

Industry

No joy for Attock and Lucky

The two southern cement manufacturers Lucky (PSX: LUCK) and Attock (PSX: ACPL) are really headed south from the looks of

Published 30 Jul, 2019 08:09am

Industry

PAKT: back to profitable growth

After having a somewhat muted performance in the first quarter this year, the leading cigarette manufacturer has made a

Published 25 Jul, 2019 06:32am

Industry

Anatomy of Punjab’s sugarcane belt

A mapping exercise identifying largest kharif crop by region published in this space noted that the cane acres in Punjab

Published 11 Jul, 2019 06:29am

Industry

Cement’s diminishing outlook

In the months leading to the close of FY19, one thing was clear—this year would chip away at volumes, margins and profit

Published 11 Jul, 2019 06:24am

Industry

Cement’s crisis of confidence

It is rather a pity that the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has stopped updating their website or

Published 05 Jul, 2019 05:56am

Industry

Sugar watch: look towards cane utilization to explain shortfall!

What explains the more than one-third increase in retail sugar prices during June-19? Populist media has for long been p

Published 02 Jul, 2019 06:28am

Industry

Last ditch efforts!

Much like the zero-rated lobby and the sugar lobby, cement and steel lobbies are not far behind in calling the budget an

Published 26 Jun, 2019 05:53am

Industry

We have been here before!

Eleven weeks ago, this space had predicted that refined sugar prices are on a resurgence, driven less by supply-side p

Published 25 Jun, 2019 05:57am

Industry

Paper industry: flawed taxation structure

The recently unveiled budget comes by and large as welcome gift for the paper manufacturing sector. Judging by the budge

Published 17 Jun, 2019 06:27am

Industry

Budget: a win for tobaccos?

First impressions can be misleading. After the budget was announced, news media and some brokerage firms came out with “

Published 13 Jun, 2019 06:28am

Industry

The case of missing GST on sugar

It was inevitable. White sugar has long been censured as a non-essential food commodity; and those in the policymaking c

Published 13 Jun, 2019 06:19am

Industry

Milk yields: weighing the options

To get the most from something by investing least amount of resources is a concept at least as old as industrial revolut

Published 10 Jun, 2019 07:27am

Industry

Tobaccos: at a loss?

Tobacco majors thought they had things under control with the new government. Not quite! Reportedly, the Prime Minister,

Published 31 May, 2019 08:32am

Industry

Zero-rated no more

The latest casualties in light of the recently agreed IMF bailout are the zero-rated sectors which are likely to lose th

Published 31 May, 2019 06:56am

Industry

Cement’s price and demand

Cement prices have been under immense pressure in the past few months, mostly heading south due to increased competition

Updated 31 May, 2019 08:18am

Industry

Milk pricing problem

That Pakistan’s milk price control is hurting both its livestock animals and milk consumers was discussed earlier in thi

Published 30 May, 2019 05:34am

Industry

Beneficiaries of sugar subsidy (2)

Declining exports by sugar milling sector in the ongoing fiscal year has raised the spectre of a severe downturn in the

Published 30 May, 2019 05:30am

Industry

Putting a dollar value on ethanol potential

Last week, BR Research published an attempt to quantify the output of Pakistan’s distillery industry, in absence of veri

Updated 30 May, 2019 07:50am

Industry

Construction: demand blockade

It will be a while for the tumbledown economy to start recovering, but even as it does, it will chip away some of the pr

Published 28 May, 2019 05:56am

Industry

More power to appliances

Forewarning a decline in discretionary consumer spending, the production of major household appliances is taking a hit.

Published 22 May, 2019 03:40am

Industry

Beneficiaries of subsidy in sugar

Last week, BR Research published an attempt to map the footprint of politically influential families in the sugar indust

Updated 10 May, 2019 04:13am

Industry

Cement’s misfortunes

Cement companies are in dire straits. Cumulatively, after tax earnings fell by 16 percent in 9MFY19, but only owing to a

Updated 08 May, 2019 06:40am

Industry

Mapping political footprint in sugar industry

Much is made in media of political barons dominating the sugar sector. And while those belonging to political families h

Published 02 May, 2019 06:49am

Industry

EFOODS: dairy by any other name

What’s in a name? A lot, going by the popular local tradition of name-changing, often done to inspire luck in lives ridd

Published 30 Apr, 2019 05:28am

Industry

Lucky: running out of luck

Despite a 105 percent growth in exports, the company’s revenue shows a growth of about 6 percent in 9MFY19. Meanwhile, t

Updated 29 Apr, 2019 12:00pm

Industry

Bestway, Maple Leaf, Cherat: bleak path to FY19

Of the three cement manufacturers in question, MapleLeaf Cement (PSX: MLCF) is really pulling down the team average, as

Published 26 Apr, 2019 06:04am

Industry

PMPK: back to losses

It’s not the financial start a tobacco company would have wanted to start off a tough business year. As per a company no

Published 26 Apr, 2019 06:00am

Industry

DGKC starting to bleed

Despite a nearly 30 percent growth in revenues, DG Khan Cement (PSX: DGKC) watched its 9MFY19 earnings nearly drop to ha

Published 25 Apr, 2019 04:54am

Industry

Pakistan Tobacco: FED hurts

Surprising that the leading cigarette maker posted a sizable decline in net profits in the opening quarter. As per lates

Published 24 Apr, 2019 06:28am

Industry

Industry 4.0: are we ready?

While the majority in Pakistan is dispensing sermons about the country missing out on the knowledge economy, there is an

Published 18 Apr, 2019 06:17am

Industry

Skills development in garments

Readymade garments are one of Pakistan’s top exports but a number of constraints are inhibiting the sector’s true potent

Published 15 Apr, 2019 06:55am

Industry

Attock Cement: racing to the mean

With a whopping 36 percent growth in the top-line, Attock cement’s 9MFY19 revenues are definitely above expectations. Un

Published 12 Apr, 2019 06:26am

Industry

Cement cartel: do not resuscitate

That the cement industry operates in a cartel is no secret. History suggests that the cartel breaks every time the indus

Published 11 Apr, 2019 06:20am

Industry

Get ready for sugar-flation?

The rational expectations theory in economics posits that public’s expectations about future influence what actually tak

Published 10 Apr, 2019 05:58am

Industry

Cement: biding for boom

Cement manufacturers like other construction peers cannot wait for the Naya Pakistan Housing Plan (NPHP) to pan out, but

Published 10 Apr, 2019 05:41am

Industry

PEL reflects economic slowdown

Economic and political uncertainties during much of 2018 ensured that one of Pakistan’s leading appliance makers couldn’

Published 08 Apr, 2019 07:12am

Industry

Cement: exports to the rescue

Though official numbers from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) are not publicly available yet, p

Published 02 Apr, 2019 06:59am

Industry

Steel: spirits down

Domestic steel production is on a steep decline. Unlike cement though, exports are not cushioning the blow to total sale

Published 29 Mar, 2019 05:50am

Industry

Market sizing of domestic illicit cigarettes

Evidence matters! And lack of evidence leads to poor policy decisions. That’s one of the many key findings of recent two

Updated 02 Mar, 2021 08:04pm

Industry

Did tobaccos deliver on taxes?

As the budgetary exercise gets underway, fiscal relief for several sectors may be in the offing. Among them is the billi

Updated 25 Mar, 2019 08:10am

Industry

China market: coal out in the cold

Though China maintains there is no ban, China-bound Australian coal shipments are looking for a new home. For the past f

Published 21 Mar, 2019 06:24am

Industry

Construction: tough tidings

Latest FDI statistics in 8M indicate that the construction sector for the first time ever is taking the lead in FDI flow

Published 20 Mar, 2019 05:22am

Industry

Cement’s demand flips

Three major trends are setting the wheels in motion for the cement industry’s demand: a dip in government spending that

Published 11 Mar, 2019 06:45am

Industry

Bestway: tax reversal cushions blow

At a time of lethargic domestic demand, rising price competition and shaky cement exports to certain markets, Bestway Ce

Published 26 Feb, 2019 05:17am

Industry

Efoods: a study in red

What is happening at Engro Foods (EFOODS)? The dairy upstart’s performance during the past three years indicates that th

Published 22 Feb, 2019 06:02am

Industry

Kohat, MapleLeaf: suffering continues

It is now clear to all the market watchers that this is not going to be the year of cement. The most cement manufacturer

Published 22 Feb, 2019 05:59am

Industry

Cement’s plan B

With domestic demand experiencing a dip, cement manufacturers have been selling off their surplus inventory to regional

Updated 15 Feb, 2019 05:55am

Industry

PIA: From national pride to national embarrassment

Fifty five years ago, a Saudi Air team came to study PIA. Today someone should come to study on how to acquire and turna

Published 14 Feb, 2019 05:11am

Industry

Naya Real Estate (i)

PM Imran Khan’s pet project, the Naya Pakistan Housing Program (NPHP), is picking up pace and the government is not shyi

Published 06 Feb, 2019 06:18am

Industry

Laying groundwork for bioethanol (II)

“When life gives you sugarcane, make ethanol not sugar”; at least that is the lesson from around the world. And a basic

Published 04 Feb, 2019 05:38am

Industry

Unlucky times for Lucky

In many ways, FY19 is turning out to be a year of uncertainty—more than the usual share at least. For cement manufacture

Updated 01 Feb, 2019 07:04am

Industry

Attock Cement: cautiously realistic

Attock cement posted a largely unimpressive financial statement for 1HFY19 albeit one aligned with most expectations and

Updated 22 Jan, 2019 08:09am

Industry

Cement: toughen up!

Being able to sell its excess products into exporting markets when local demand wanes is not something every industry in

Published 15 Jan, 2019 06:44am

Industry

A tale of two crushing countries

A cursory look on the list of top 10 sugar exporting countries reveals that only four of them also feature on the list o

Published 09 Jan, 2019 05:48am

Industry

Skin in the game

The scatter plot next to this column is a mess. Why? Because it is a true representation of the travails of the sugar se

Updated 24 Dec, 2018 06:24am

Industry

‘Honeyed’ SMEs

The apiculture sector is a small and overlooked one, even by SME standards. This is unsurprising since honey globally is

Published 21 Dec, 2018 05:30am

Industry

Engineering goods potential

Different governments have at different times talked about promoting exports through non-traditional SME sectors such as

Published 20 Dec, 2018 05:39am

Industry

Scale of tax loss in tobacco

The three-tier tobacco FED regime introduced in May 2017 has led to multiple controversies. (Read: ‘A case against multi

Published 18 Dec, 2018 06:28am

Industry

A case against multi-tier tobacco tax regime

Introduced in May 2017 to counter alleged trade of illicit cigarettes, the three-tier tobacco FED regime has been contro

Published 17 Dec, 2018 07:30am

Industry

Trends in sugar mill capacity utilization

Every year before the crushing season, the sugar milling industry raises hue and cry over the artificially high held ind

Published 17 Dec, 2018 07:20am

Industry

A test for ghee

Flipping through channels one often catches celebrity chefs on popular cooking channels extolling the virtues of ghee. T

Published 17 Dec, 2018 06:47am

Industry

Cement’s mixed-plate

Sea-borne cement exports are breaking all kinds of ceilings, growing by more than 200 percent in 5MFY19. It seems that t

Published 14 Dec, 2018 07:10am

Industry

Sugar roundup (II)

Elementary economics dictates that when input prices increase without a commensurate increase in output price, supply sh

Updated 30 Jan, 2019 06:40am

Industry

Sin tax has fiscal virtues

What’s in a name? Apparently a lot! Reportedly, the federal government is planning to impose a “sin tax” on cigarettes a

Published 12 Dec, 2018 06:18am

Industry

LSM jitters

Rising inflation, rupee depreciation, higher interest rates, slipping FX reserves – and now a fall in Large Scale Manufa

Published 06 Dec, 2018 05:56am

Industry

Another year, another sugar glut

It has become a yearly occurrence now. Just before the crushing season sugar mills take to protesting the support price

Published 09 Nov, 2018 06:05am

Industry

Cementing near future

If cement industry’s future seemed rather uncertain (read “cement demand fatigue”, Oct 19, 2018), as economy simmers dow

Published 08 Nov, 2018 06:25am

Industry

Steel demand: ironclad enough?

According to SBP’s State of the Economy report for FY18, steel manufacturing grew by 22 percent during FY18, and 21 perc

Published 31 Oct, 2018 06:15am

Industry

What drives sugar mill to profitability?

Sugar sector has many troubles. Oft-repeated is the artificial floor on raw material price and slump in global commodity

Published 23 Oct, 2018 06:30am

Industry

Cement demand fatigue

In a great twist of fate, cement exports are saving the day for the cement industry that is going through a grueling tim

Published 19 Oct, 2018 06:16am

Industry

Cherat and Attock: profits plummet

It wasn’t meant to be this way but warning bells had been rung some time ago. After a rough FY18 where a combined after-

Published 17 Oct, 2018 05:50am

Industry

Manufacturing growth

That Pakistan has disincentivised manufacturing sector over the last few decades is not breaking news. But that the gros

Published 11 Oct, 2018 06:56am

Industry

Shipbreaking sector in the graveyard

Pakistan still has the dubious honour of being among the top three ship breaking countries in the world as per a recent

Published 10 Oct, 2018 06:57am

Industry

Leather exports continue to struggle

The leather sector continues to struggle when it comes to exports. The recently released leather export numbers by the P

Published 09 Oct, 2018 07:08am

Industry

Cement: playing jeopardy

By now, all of the cement manufacturers have announced their respective financial results for FY18, and it is evident th

Published 05 Oct, 2018 06:56am

Industry

LSM stays low

The Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) numbers for July 2018 are out, and are nothing to write home about. At 0.5 percent y

Published 27 Sep, 2018 06:15am

Industry

PSEL: finance costs bite

Pakistan’s leading hotelier apparently felt the heat in FY18 – a year of immense political instability. But the bottom-l

Published 26 Sep, 2018 05:53am

Industry

Explaining poor cotton demand

Raw cotton production in Pakistan is witnessing its worst bout in recent memory. According to a report published in this

Published 14 Sep, 2018 09:02am

Industry

Cement: cautiously optimistic

In the run to 100-days, the PTI government has announced a number of plans that it intends to undertake during its tenur

Published 13 Sep, 2018 07:41am

Industry

Cement: tentative demand trends

The new government is in its first 100 days with PM Imran at its helm is proactively forming committees for the various

Published 06 Sep, 2018 06:32am

Industry

“Concrete” plans

If the PML-N government’s infrastructure and development spending was giving impetus to the cement sector, the new gover

Published 27 Aug, 2018 06:18am

Industry

PMPK: flying high

The tobacco fortunes have indeed turned. In fact, the second-ranked tobacco player is on a roll this year. During the ha

Published 20 Aug, 2018 07:22am

Industry

What’s luck got to do with it?

One cannot deny that the dichotomous trends facing the cement industry are nothing less than interesting. On the one han

Updated 01 Oct, 2019 12:27pm

Industry

Rousing low-cost housing finance

The rising housing gap in Pakistan is a substantiated fact, even if it is overshadowed by other pressing issues facing t

Published 27 Jul, 2018 07:32am

Industry

Leather exports FY18

Times have been hard for the leather industry in Pakistan over the past several years now. The recently released leather

Updated 27 Jul, 2018 07:51am

Industry

JDW 9MFY18

For the shareholders of JDW, a company that had posted record high sales during last marketing year, the 9-month period

Published 24 Jul, 2018 06:12am

Industry

Cement prices in flux

Cement prices have now been raised on average by Rs60 per a 50-kg bag, nearly half of that gain coming about in just the

Published 23 Jul, 2018 07:04am

Industry

Cement’s X-factor

Despite robust growth, the cement industry has experienced its fair share of ups and downs over the past year or so. Exp

Updated 13 Jul, 2018 07:46am

Industry

Cement expansions on track

Since this year began, cement expansions that were announced during 2016 and 2017 are officially on the road. Lucky Ceme

Published 29 Jun, 2018 07:11am

Industry

Cement growth: a toss-up

The year-on-year growth in cement dispatches is testament to the strong demand that is coming from construction and deve

Published 20 Jun, 2018 06:35am

Industry

Leather: A case of compliance

The years have not been kind to Pakistan’s leather industry with production and exports going downhill. Leather product

Published 19 Jun, 2018 06:26am

Industry

Cement’s growth paradox

Being one of the biggest beneficiaries of the construction and development activities in the country, especially since e

Published 21 May, 2018 06:54am

Industry

Much ado about nothing

Last year in November, the Supreme Court took suo moto notice of claims that the Katas Raj temple in Kallar Kahar, Punja

Published 11 May, 2018 06:12am

Industry

Leather manufacturing slide continues

The leather sector continued its disappointing performance during the year. According to the latest Pakistan Economic Su

Published 03 May, 2018 07:32am

Industry

Big tobacco wins, again

Deceptive marketing continues as far as government measures on tobacco control are concerned. During the budget speech,

Published 02 May, 2018 07:23am

Industry

Mounting cost of construction

According to budget 18-19 documents, the government intends to get the highest Federal Excise Duty (FED) from cement to

Published 30 Apr, 2018 06:18am

Industry

Packages Limited – 1QCY18

Continuing past trend, Packages top-line increased despite a drop in export sales. While revenue has been rising for Pac

Published 26 Apr, 2018 06:07am

Industry

Cement: profitability takes a beating

Though cement dispatches grew by 15 percent in 9MFY18 year on year, financial results of cement companies during the per

Published 24 Apr, 2018 05:39am

Industry

LSM’s momentum continues

The National Accounts Committee recently said it expected the large-scale manufacturing (LSM) index to grow 6.13 percent

Published 17 Apr, 2018 06:36am

Industry

Illicit cigarettes: a smokescreen?

Falling cigarette prices in Pakistan are not a good omen for public health. Recall, federal government had effectively m

Published 13 Apr, 2018 06:13am

Industry

GDP at risk of being understated

Last week, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Statistics expressed its concerns over the delay in Census of M

Published 11 Apr, 2018 06:15am

Industry

Cement holding strong

The cement sector has officially entered the under capacity phase where capacity utilization in the month of March cross

Published 11 Apr, 2018 06:14am

Industry

Construction costs up

With a backlog of at least 12 million houses across the country, the demand for housing is on a consistent incline, and

Published 05 Apr, 2018 05:39am

Industry

Global steel in trouble

Steel manufacturers across the world have spent the past few years perturbed by the overcapacity of Chinese steel that h

Published 28 Mar, 2018 06:10am

Industry

Decline in ghee production

Production numbers of ghee declined significantly for the first time since FY09 on a year on year basis for 7MFY18. It a

Published 28 Mar, 2018 05:48am

Industry

Cement’s new normal

The trend in the cement industry hasn’t changed much. High capacity utilization—above 90 percent— persists on account of

Published 22 Mar, 2018 06:25am

Industry

Sugar & cigarettes lift Jan LSM growth

Large Scale Manufacturing is back in business. Or so it seems. After slipping to an average growth of 5.5 percent in 1HF

Published 20 Mar, 2018 06:26am

Industry

PMPK sustains recovery

The tobacco duopoly is alive and well. After the market leader Pakistan Tobacco Company (PSX: PAKT) recently reported a

Published 19 Mar, 2018 06:38am

Industry

Cement’s recovering confidence

The cement sector has been witnessing an incongruous growth trajectory. Local demand has been flourishing but exports ha

Published 08 Mar, 2018 06:26am

Industry

PAKT: a roller-coaster ride

After posting impressive financials in CY16, the tobacco giant couldn’t repeat the feat in CY17. But Pakistan Tobacco (P

Published 22 Feb, 2018 05:54am

Industry

Cement’s unkempt growth path

The cement industry is seeking an anti-dumping duty on Iranian cement coming into Pakistan which is cheap and low qualit

Updated 19 Feb, 2018 06:12am

Industry

Paper dives, packaging flourishes

Recently, the Pakistan Pulp Paper & Board Mills Association made an appeal to the government for a level playing fie

Published 19 Feb, 2018 04:26am

Industry

Cherat’s many silver linings

After going online with its second production line—a first of the many expansions cement companies are bringing—Cherat i

Published 09 Feb, 2018 08:08am

Industry

LSM growth: strong but slower

Until October 2017 LSM growth was gathering steam, having posted a phenomenal four-month average growth of 9.6 percent.

Updated 25 Jan, 2018 06:42am

Industry

Cement in chains

The cement industry has had it fair share of ups and downs, but the struggle lately is real. Despite flourishing local d

Published 23 Jan, 2018 05:50am

Industry

Kicking-off industrial growth

Last week this column talked about the country lagging behind in the technology revolution in the production and manufac

Published 22 Jan, 2018 05:13am

Industry

Cement: the best of times, the worst of times!

And so the opposing growth trends continue as we wrap up the first half of the fiscal year. The cement dispatch numbers

Published 12 Jan, 2018 06:28am

Industry

LSM gathering steam

The LSM is back in action. After seeming to lose steam in September 2017, when the benchmark Large Scale Manufacturing i

Published 27 Dec, 2017 07:43am

Industry

Global steel’s ‘China’ problem

While global steel production has increased in November, analysts see steel output from China reclining. This comes as a

Published 22 Dec, 2017 08:02am

Industry

Cement’s ill-fated growth

Some trends within the cement sector are clear and cannot be escaped from. That exports will continue to dip as we move

Published 18 Dec, 2017 07:20am

Industry

Cement exports and geostrategic failures

It isn’t news that Pakistani exports have dramatically been falling since 2015. Exports share used to be upwards of 35 p

Updated 22 Nov, 2017 05:45am

Industry

Cement’s growth dichotomy

There are two dichotomous trends in the cement sector right now. The first is that even when the demand for cement is he

Updated 10 Nov, 2017 08:36am

Industry

Lucky, Cherat and Fauji: fortunes low

Despite having different dynamics coming into play, Lucky (PSX: LUCK), Cherat (PSX: CHCC) and Fauji (PSX: FCCL) remained

Published 31 Oct, 2017 06:47am

Industry

Cement cartel breaks

After considerably raising the bar on growth expectations, the cement sector is settling down for a somber few years. Th

Updated 09 Nov, 2017 10:34am

Industry

Bestway and Pioneer: Going gets tough

Cement sector is having a tough fiscal year so far; and despite growth in dispatches, margins have fallen dramatically r

Updated 24 Oct, 2017 07:51am

Industry

Cement margins to recede further

Financial results of cement companies for the first quarter of FY18 are starting to roll in and expectations are they wi

Updated 24 Oct, 2017 06:21am

Industry

Colgate Palmolive

Colgate Palmolive's topline grew faster than competitors in the FMCG category showed its recent quarter results. The gro

Published 20 Oct, 2017 05:43am

Industry

DGKC saved by tax reversal

DG Khan Cement took the market by surprise yesterday. It announced a nearly 50 percent jump in after tax profits, not be

Published 19 Oct, 2017 05:58am

Industry

Leather industry: a case for concern

These are worrying times for Pakistan's leather industry. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in its recently released annu

Published 18 Oct, 2017 06:23am

Industry

The rise and fall of the cement titans

Not too long ago, the cement sector had everyone on their toes. The sector was riding on the wave of what can only be ca

Updated 10 Oct, 2017 10:56am

Industry

Cement local demand meeting expectations

Despite a growing trend in cement dispatches year on year, market confidence in cement scrips has drastically plummeted,

Published 05 Oct, 2017 07:10am

Industry

Pioneer primed for growth

Pioneer Cement (PSX: PIOC) announced its financial performance for FY17 yesterday along with a final cash dividend of Rs

Updated 28 Sep, 2017 06:16am

Industry

Manufacturing growth

LSM’s growth in the fiscal year so far is a story of two Cs: consumerism and construction. In the face of weak domestic

Updated 25 Sep, 2017 06:34am

Industry

Fauji Cement: A tough FY17

FY17 turned out to be a tough year for Fauji Cement Company Limited (PSX: FCCL) as the company saw a whopping 51 percent

Published 21 Sep, 2017 05:48am

Industry

DGKC: slower demand, solid prospects

Total cement demand in FY17 waned as compared to FY16 where the slowdown was particularly witnessed in the last couple o

Updated 20 Sep, 2017 07:31am

Industry

Rising cost of industrial utilities

One of the biggest arguments for falling exports given by the local industry is the increased cost of doing business in

Published 15 Sep, 2017 06:07am

Industry

Amreli vying for growth

Amreli Steel has been diligently sending a quarterly report to the PSX on its expansion project to substantially increas

Updated 08 Sep, 2017 06:45am

Industry

Cement’s growth myths

Iranian cement apparently, is its Pakistani counterpart’s kryptonite, and not in the romantic sense. It appears the coun

Updated 05 Sep, 2017 07:51am

Industry

Bestway knows the way

Bestway has contributed to its fair share of hype in the cement industry over the past year and not least because of its

Updated 24 Aug, 2017 06:46am

Industry

Tough luck for Thatta

One of the smaller companies of the lot, Thatta cement has witnessed a strong growth trajectory over the past few years.

Published 22 Aug, 2017 05:06am

Industry

PICT holds steady

Can the leading container-terminal operator repeat its all-round CY16 performance this year? Pakistan International Cont

Published 17 Aug, 2017 06:43am

Industry

ISL: the sun is staying up

The ball is really in the court for steel and cement manufacturers lately who hope to benefit from the rising demand in

Updated 16 Aug, 2017 07:43am

Industry

PCAL on a roll

These are good times for one of Pakistan’s leading manufacturers of electric wires and cables. Pakistan Cable Limited (P

Published 15 Aug, 2017 06:47am

Industry

Cement growth with reservations

The cement sector closed off FY17 with the highest ever dispatches in the sector’s history—clocking at 40 million tons a

Published 11 Aug, 2017 06:15am

Industry

Lucky: leading by example

As a leader in terms of market share, Lucky Cement (PSX: LUCK) embodies how a sustainable business and market leader sho

Published 01 Aug, 2017 06:26am

Industry

Cement growth: At odds with itself

For all the hype that was created beginning last year for prospective demand in construction, the cement sector closed o

Updated 21 Jul, 2017 02:26pm

Industry

There exists a cement cartel

It’s an open secret that there exists a cement cartel in Pakistan. The Competition Commission of Pakistan had conduc

Updated 11 Jul, 2017 08:30am

Industry

Airline rankings: PIA near the bottom

While in Pakistan, the role of airlines in spurring economic growth is unfortunately negative, aviation industry acc

Published 07 Jul, 2017 04:35am

Industry

LSM forecast underestimated?

The large scale manufacturing (LSM) index has posted a growth of 5.58 percent in the ten months ending Apr

Updated 22 Jun, 2017 05:59pm

Industry

Sugar update

Sugar exports for the month of May exceeded 112,000 MT; bringing the total exported volume from January-May to just

Published 22 Jun, 2017 03:19am

Industry

APTMA: Black Day

Yesterday the textile industry observed Black Day. The lobby of spinners, APTMA closed down its textile mills all ac

Updated 22 Jun, 2017 04:51pm

Industry

Cement: Anything new?

There is finally something new in the cement numbers—a new low. As we inch closer to the end of this fiscal year, ne

Published 19 Jun, 2017 05:29am

Industry

Qatar LNG exports: safe for now

The diplomatic crisis in the Middle East might have far-reaching repercussions for the region and the global energy

Updated 14 Jun, 2017 07:24am

Industry

MSCI upgrade disappoints

Pakistan equity market after a hiatus of almost nine years finally became part of the MSCI Emerging Market index. Ho

Updated 02 Jun, 2017 09:03am

Industry

Tobacco in the budget

Amid reports of rising illicit cigarette sales, the federal government seems to have put forward a new strategy. Instead

Updated 02 Jun, 2017 10:40am

Industry

Energy - where?

The only thing that has attained higher priority over metros and motorways in the government’s current tenure, is po

Published 26 May, 2017 04:26am

Industry

Is full-year LSM forecast underestimated?

This year’s LSM story is a little peculiar. Usually in economies like Pakistan where government institutions aren’t alwa

Published 25 May, 2017 04:23am

Industry

On taxing tobacco

It’s the budget season. And tobacco industry, which is a major tax revenue source, is under focus again. As per current

Published 25 May, 2017 04:19am

Industry

Sugar exports march on

As the ECC announced a 0.2-million-tonne extension on sugar exports at the end of March, sugar exports for the month of

Published 25 May, 2017 04:13am

Industry

Why we should embrace competition? — II

The conversation on competition is very pertinent right now. In times when the economy is expanding with satisfying

Published 19 May, 2017 03:09am

Industry

Soybeans and poultry

Last week, this column wrote about the increasing soybean imports in Pakistan ( “Soybean: A transition in process,

Updated 07 Dec, 2017 10:38am

Industry

Cement: not turning any pages

Nearly a year into the hype created by the infrastructural and housing demand projections, the cement sector is sett

Published 11 May, 2017 03:55am

Industry

Murree Brewery: not so strong

Pakistanâ€™s oldest-running enterprise continues its run of top line growth. But converting such a gain into improved pr

Updated 28 Apr, 2017 01:48pm

Industry

Cement's margins under heat in 9MFY17

Cherat, Gharibwal, Kohat and Pioneer cement released their nine-month financial accounts yesterday and they all had

Updated 16 May, 2017 10:57am

Industry

PSMC: back in action

True, the 2016 calendar year for PSMC has been tough, but not because of falling demand for its cars. Once the Punjab Ro

Published 26 Apr, 2017 06:14am

Industry

Maple Leaf leaps forward

Maple Leaf is writing a high revenue growth and controlled overheads story within the cement sector. Perhaps still a lit

Updated 26 Apr, 2017 12:53pm

Industry

MPCL - a rising star

Mari Petroleum Company Limited (PSX: MPCL) is quickly becoming one of the most favoured stocks in the oil and gas explor

Published 26 Apr, 2017 05:57am

Industry

Lucky Cement 9MFY17: Steady performance

Lucky Cement, the top cement manufacturing company in Pakistan posted its third quarter results for the financial year 2

Published 25 Apr, 2017 06:29am

Industry

Doom again for PMPKL

While rest of the economy is picking up, Pakistanâ€™s tobacco industry seems mired in recession this year. Last week, th

Published 25 Apr, 2017 06:22am

Industry

Bestway: doing its best!

After announcing in March that Bestway cement (PSX: BWCL) had won the bid to acquire the plant and related assets of Dew

Published 24 Apr, 2017 06:50am

Industry

PAKT: Up in smoke?

Suddenly, it is not looking so good for the tobacco giant anymore. After posting record profits of over ten billion rupe

Published 21 Apr, 2017 04:09am

Industry

DGKC: bumpy road to the top

The domestic demand for cement has been healthyâ€”a little lower than the expected 12-15 percentâ€”but higher than previ

Updated 28 Apr, 2017 01:43pm

Industry

Mining metallic minerals

Have the echoes of resource nationalism in the popular discourse on the Reko Diq saga helped Pakistan? Last seven years

Published 31 Mar, 2017 06:25am

Industry

Cement: Sunny with a chance of rain!

Sometimes big is beautiful; or at least that has been true for some industries, and across the world, the cement sector

Updated 30 Mar, 2017 11:39am

Industry

To allow sugar exports

After much wait, the Commerce Ministry last week recommended an export of 0.2 million tonnes of sugar, as against the pr

Updated 22 Mar, 2017 09:03am

Industry

LSM 6MFY17: Sluggish growth

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) posted the Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) Index numbers for 6MFY17 which saw a growth of 3.

Published 20 Mar, 2017 05:57am

Currency	Rate
USD PKR Interbank Selling / Nov 15	277.70
USD PKR Interbank Buying / Nov 15	277.50
USD to Japanese Yen / Nov 15	154.30
USD to Swiss Franc / Nov 15	0.89
Pound Sterling to USD / Nov 15	1.26
Euro to USD / Nov 15	1.05

Stock	Volume
India Sensex / Nov 14	77,580.31
S&P 500 / Nov 15	5,870.62
Tokyo Nikkei / Nov 15	38,642.91
Nasdaq / Nov 15	18,680.12
Hang Seng / Nov 15	19,426.34
FTSE 100 / Nov 15	8,063.61
Dow Jones / Nov 15	43,444.99
Germany DAX 30 / Nov 15	19,210.81

Item	Value
Crude Oil USD/Barrel / Nov 15	67.02
Gold 10 Grams PKR / Nov 15	233,371.60
Gold Spot USD/Ounce / Nov 15	2,563.25
Cotton US¢/pound / Nov 15	68.91
Karachi Cotton PKR/37.32 KG / Nov 16	18,085
Petrol/Litre / Nov 18	248.38

Stock	Price
786 Invest Ltd / Nov 18 786 Investments Limited(786)	6.33 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
AL-Abbas Sugar / Nov 18 Al-Abbas Sugar Mills Limited(AABS)	609.73 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Agro Allianz / Nov 18 Agro Allianz Limited(AAL)	16 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
AL-Abid Silk / Nov 18 Al-Abid Silk Mills Limited(AASM)	3.49 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Ali Asghar / Nov 18 Ali Asghar Textile Mills Limited(AATM)	56.65 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Allied Bank / Nov 18 Allied Bank Limited(ABL)	115.07 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Abbott Lab. / Nov 18 Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited(ABOT)	1,008.83 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Abson Ind. / Nov 18 Abson Industries Limited(ABSON)	2.50 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)
Alfalah ETF. / Nov 18 Alfalah Consumer Index ETF.(ACIETF)	12.43 ▼ 0.00 (0.00%)

Stock	Price
786 Invest Ltd / Nov 18 786 Investments Limited(786)	6.33 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
AL-Abbas Sugar / Nov 18 Al-Abbas Sugar Mills Limited(AABS)	609.73 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Agro Allianz / Nov 18 Agro Allianz Limited(AAL)	16 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
AL-Abid Silk / Nov 18 Al-Abid Silk Mills Limited(AASM)	3.49 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Ali Asghar / Nov 18 Ali Asghar Textile Mills Limited(AATM)	56.65 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Allied Bank / Nov 18 Allied Bank Limited(ABL)	115.07 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Abbott Lab. / Nov 18 Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited(ABOT)	1,008.83 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Abson Ind. / Nov 18 Abson Industries Limited(ABSON)	2.50 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)
Alfalah ETF. / Nov 18 Alfalah Consumer Index ETF.(ACIETF)	12.43 ▲ 0.00 (0.00%)

Stock	Volume
WorldCall Telecom / Nov 18 Worldcall Telecom Limited(WTL)	77,999,077 ▲ 0.00
Fauji Foods Ltd / Nov 18 Fauji Foods Limited(FFL)	70,721,702 ▲ 0.00
Hascol Petrol / Nov 18 Hascol Petroleum Limited(HASCOL)	55,501,231 ▲ 0.00
K-Electric Ltd. / Nov 18 K-Electric Limited(KEL)	36,884,955 ▲ 0.00
Sui South Gas / Nov 18 Sui Southern Gas Company Limited(SSGC)	36,294,630 ▲ 0.00
D.S. Ind. Ltd. / Nov 18 D.S. Industries Limited(DSIL)	32,226,742 ▲ 0.00
TRG Pak Ltd / Nov 18 TRG Pakistan Limited(TRG)	29,018,611 ▲ 0.00
Pak Int.Bulk / Nov 18 Pakistan International Bulk Terminal(PIBTL)	22,405,457 ▲ 0.00
Treet Battery / Nov 18 Treet Battery Limited(TBL)	21,319,898 ▲ 0.00