Engro posts Rs6.837bn profit after tax

KARACHI: Engro Corporation has posted consolidated profit-after-tax (PAT) of Rs 6.565 billion compared to Rs 6.837 billion for the first quarter ending March 31, 2019 with consolidated revenue growth of 21 percent against the same period of last year.

The profit is driven by higher urea sales in fertilizer business. PAT attributable to the owners was recorded at Rs 4.010 billion against Rs 4.194 billion for the similar period of last year, said an Engro press release on Friday.

On a stand-alone basis, the company posted a profit after tax of Rs3.832 billion against Rs 3.146 million for the similar period last year.

The company announced an interim cash dividend of Rs 7.00 per share for the first quarter. Engro Corporation, in light of its long-term strategy, has streamlined its businesses in four verticals food and agriculture, energy and related Infrastructure, petrochemicals and telecommunications infrastructure; focused on creating value and helping Pakistan resolve these pressing issues.

For developing potential business opportunities in the telecommunications infrastructure vertical, the Company had earlier set up Enfrashare (Private) Limited.

It will accelerate development of the country's connectivity infrastructure by providing an opportunity for people to be part of the new digital era.

As an initial investment, Enfrashare will engage in the acquisition and construction of shared telecom towers, provision of various telecommunication infrastructure and related services including state-of-the-art network monitoring solutions.

To enable this, the Directors have approved an investment of Rs 7.5 billion in this vertical.

The Board of Directors also approved the commencement of a feasibility study of a polypropylene facility based on a propane dehydrogenation plant.

This will also enable the company to initiate discussions with potential partners and/or stakeholders for developing this project.

Investment in the Petrochemical sector will create opportunities for both substituting the imports and enhancing the export potential. Thus, it will help build foreign currency reserves of the country.