Earnings of cement firms rise

Lucky Cement Ltd reported on Monday its unconsolidated earnings for July-September amounted to Rs6.9 billion, up 80 per cent year-on-year. However, its consolidated earnings surged 179pc to Rs19.3bn on an annual basis. Arif Habib Ltd said the increase in consolidated income was attributable to higher revenue from cement operations, Lucky Electric Power Company and Lucky Core Industries Ltd. Separately, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd said its profit for July-September amounted to Rs29.6bn, up 11pc from a year ago. On a sequential basis, its bottom line swelled 84pc. Kohat Cement Company Ltd also announced its quarterly results, which showed its net profit for the latest three-month period clocked in at Rs2.2bn, up 25pc from the preceding year. Textile-maker Interloop Ltd said its earnings for July-September remained Rs6bn, up 22pc from a year ago. Its top line rose 26pc year-on-year to Rs38.5bn because of higher hosiery segment pricing, volumetric increase in sales and currency depreciation of 23pc, said Arif Habib Ltd.