Aisha Steel Mills Limited (ASL) announced its financial results for the first quarter that ended on September 30, 2020 (Q1 FY21).
The company has posted its highest ever quarterly profit since its inception as it reported a profit of Rs. 660 million. It had reported a loss of Rs. 203.99 million in the same period last year.
Pertinently, the sales of the company grew by a stunning 82% to Rs 11.20 billion as compared to Rs. 6.16 billion as the company undertook expansion in its CRC capacity to 700,000 tons per annum which augmented volumes and improved its sales mix (ASL now sells galvanized steel; a higher margin product).
This remarkable growth in revenue translated into a 420bps year on year jump in the gross margins to 13.2% as compared to 9.0% in the same period last year, which offset the impact of the Rupee’s depreciation and higher HRC prices.
Aisha Steel Limited’s management also highlighted that since March 2020, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has slashed the benchmark policy rate to 7%, which aided a 38% decline in financial charges to Rs. 444 million, supporting bottom-line growth as compared to Rs. 718 million recorded in the same period last year. The company also booked effective taxation at 26% which was at Rs. 236.88 million as compared to a tax credit of Rs. 36 million in Q1FY20.
Basic earnings per share of the company were reported at Rs. 0.82 as compared to a loss per share of 0.29.
ASL’s share at the bourse closed at Rs. 16.70, up by Rs. 0.38 or 2.33%, with a turnover of 37.72 million shares on Wednesday.
