Kohat Cement Company Limited (PSX: KOHC) was established by State Cement Corporation of Pakistan in 1984. In 1992, the government privatized the company.
The company was listed on the stock exchanges of Pakistan in 1984. The principal activity of the company is the manufacturing and sale of cement [grey and white clinker]. ANS Capital [Private] Limited is the holding company of KOHC.
Pattern of Shareholding
As of June 30, 2025, the company has 183.861 million shares outstanding which are held by 2952 shareholders.
Associated companies, undertakings and related parties have the majority stake of 60.17 percent in company. Directors, CEO, their spouse and minor children hold 18.40 percent shares of the company.
Mutual funds have a stake of 9.84 percent in the company followed by general public with 9.30 percent shares. The remaining shares are held by other categories of shareholders.
Historical Performance (2019-2024)
Over the period under consideration, KOHC’s topline posted year-on-year dip in 2020, 2024 and 2025. Its bottomline slid in 2019. In 2020, KOHC posted gross, operating and net losses.
The company’s bottomline exhibited growth thereafter. KOHC’s margins followed a downward trajectory until 2020, followed by a rebound for the next two years. In 2023, KOHC’s margins slightly ticked down, however, bounced back to attain their highest levels in 2025. The detailed performance review of the period under consideration is given below.
In 2019, the company’s topline grew by 16.42 percent year-on-year to clock in at Rs.15,645.65 million. During the year, KOHC’s sales volume registered 4.68 percent year-on-year rise to clock in at 2.35 million metric tons which included 0.12 million metric tons of export sales.
However, tremendous increase in the cost of sales due to increase in the prices of imported coal coupled with Pak Rupee Depreciation proved to be a double whammy for the company.
Moreover, increase in the prices of packaging material and electricity also didn’t bode well for KOHC. To top it off, cement prices also fell in the 4QFY19 which also affected the profitability of the company.
With 3.52 percent year-on-year dip in the gross profit, GP margin clocked in at 26.67 percent in 2019 versus GP margin of 32.19 percent posted in 2018. Distribution expense dropped by 11.91 percent in 2019 due to cement loading charges incurred in the previous year.
Conversely, administrative expense surged by 25.11 percent in 2019 due to higher payroll expense as the company expanded its workforce from 599 employees in 2018 to 626 employees in 2019. Other expense grew by 48.36 percent year-on-year during 2019 mainly due to massive exchange loss on account of Pak Rupee depreciation. KOHC posted 8.70 percent dip in its operating profit in 2019.
OP margin also fell from 30.34 percent in 2018 to 23.79 percent in 2019. The company was able to contain its finance cost by 56.76 percent in 2019 despite high discount rate during the year. This was due to less geared capital structure of the company with debt-to-equity ratio of 22:78.
KOHC posted net profit of Rs.2468.66 million in 2019, down 17.16 percent year-on-year. This translated into EPS of Rs.12.29 in 2019 versus EPS of Rs.14.84 posted in the previous year. NP margin stood at 15.78 percent in 2019 vis-à-vis NP margin of 22.17 percent recorded in 2018.
2020 jolted the company with a drastic 27.77 percent year-on-year drop in its topline which was recorded at Rs.11,300.24 million. This came on the back of 6 percent year-on-year drop in volumes and 24 percent year-on-year drop in cement prices. The company registered gross loss of Rs.24.32 million in 2020.
KOHC kept its operating expense in check. Its distribution expense dropped by 24.70 percent in 2020 on the back of lower salaries of sales force and curtailed sales promotion budget.
Administrative expense also dipped by 6.10 percent in 2020. Other expense declined by 96.42 percent in 2020 due to considerably lower profit related provisioning and no exchange loss.
However, with 43.73 percent year-on-year drop in other income primarily due to lower income from bank deposits, KOHC posted operating loss of Rs.147.61 million in 2020. Finance cost enlarged by 789.40 percent in 2020 owing to long-term financing obtained during the year for the completion of its new cement line. The company registered net loss of Rs.443.74 million in 2020 with loss per share of Rs.2.21.
In 2021, KOHC’s topline boasted 112.89 percent year-on-year growth to clock in at Rs.24,057.38 million. This was backed by 69.30 percent year-on-year growth in cement off-take.
The growth was propelled by government initiatives for the real-estate sector including low-cost housing projects and subsidized house financing along with CPEC related activitie during the year. Improved selling prices during the year proved to be a cherry on top resulting in gross profit of Rs.5965.35 million in 2021 with GP margin of 24.80 percent.
KOHC took optimum benefit of the increased market demand and made its new production line fully operational in 2021.
Distribution expense mounted by 46.54 percent in 2021 due to higher payroll expense and extensive sales promotion drives undertaken during the year. To activate its new production line, the company hired additional resources which took the tally from 683 employees in 2020 to 696 employees in 2021.
Other expense grew by 1876.81 percent in 2021 mainly owing to higher provisioning done for WPPF and WWF. Other income slid by 13 percent in 2021 due to lower foreign currency gain and lesser realized gain on investment at FVTPL.
KOHC posted operating profit of Rs.5403.01 million in 2021 with OP margin of 22.46 percent. High interest rates paved the way for finance cost to grow by 26.20 percent year-on-year in 2021.
This was despite the fact that the company paid off a large portion of its outstanding liabilities during the year which resulted in its gearing ratio falling down from 32.82 percent in 2020 to 8.89 percent in 2021. KOHC registered net profit of Rs.3497.51 million in 2021 with EPS of Rs.17.41. NP margin clocked in at 14.54 percent in 2021.
In 2022, KOHC’s topline picked up by 36.66 percent to clock in at Rs. 32,876.95 million. However, the growth was price-led rather than volume-led. Local and domestic sales posted decline of 0.5 percent and 95.6 percent respectively in 2022.
Prices had to be kept high to absorb the exorbitant rise in prices of coal, electricity and petroleum products. The company used a mix of local and Afghan coal to mitigate the effect of elevated international coal prices.
Such measures enabled KOHC to improve its GP margin to 29.84 percent in 2022. In absolute terms, gross profit strengthened by 64.48 percent in 2022. Distribution expense surged by 29.70 percent in 2022 due to higher salaries and wages paid during the year. Although number of employees remained intact during the year, inflationary pressure resulted in 12.76 percent spike in administrative expense in 2022.
Other income improved by 304.36 percent in 2022 mainly on account on realized gain on investment in treasury bills. Other expense escalated by 73.10 percent in 2022 due to higher profit related provisioning. KOHC’s operating profit grew by 75.15 percent in 2022 with OP margin clocking in at 28.78 percent.
Finance cost grew by mere 4 percent year-on-year in 2022 despite multiple upward revisions in discount rate taken place during the year.
This was because the company paid its entire short-term loans during the year. Moreover, massive increase in short-term investment resulted in negative gearing ratio in 2022. Bottomline of KOHC registered 43.65 percent year-on-year growth in 2022 to clock in at Rs. 5024.28 million in 2022 with EPS of Rs.25.01 and NP margin of 15.28 percent.
Mounting economic and political instability resulted in a standstill in construction and infrastructure related activities in the country. This translated into 15.71 percent decline in the overall dispatches of cement industry.
KOHC’s sales volume ticked down by 15.66 percent in 2023 to clock in at 3 million M tons. On the positive front, export sales grew by over 312 percent in 2023 to clock in at 31663 M tons.
However, it constituted only 1 percent of the total sales volume of KOHC in 2023. KOHC’s topline picked up by 18.39 percent to clock in at Rs. 38,921.64 million in 2023. Spike in the prices of petroleum, coal, electricity and imported consumables was further exacerbated due to Pak Rupee depreciation.
The company tried to control its cost by setting up a solar power plant and switching to cheaper local and Afghan coal. However, its GP margin ticked down to 26.8 percent in 2023 with only 6.33 percent increase in gross profit in absolute terms. Distribution expense mounted by 44.20 percent in 2023 due to heightened salaries and sales promotion expense incurred during the year.
Number of employees remained intact at 696 in 2023, however, inflationary pressure pushed up administrative expense by 12.10 percent in 2023. Other income picked up by 202.23 percent in 2023 mainly on account of hefty dividend received from investment in mutual funds. Higher profit related provisioning drove up other expense by 30.81 percent in 2023.
KOHC recorded 18.46 percent taller operating profit in 2023 while maintaining its OP margin at 28.80 percent. Finance cost surged by 37.68 percent in 2023 due to monetary tightening. Net profit improved by 15.85 percent in 2023 to clock in at Rs.5820.75 million with EPS of Rs.28.98 and NP margin of 14.96 percent.
In 2024, KOHC’s net sales dipped by 0.7 percent to clock in at Rs.38,647.77 million in 2024. This was on the back of 13.82 percent lesser dispatches recorded by the company during the year on account of economic slowdown.
Export sales ticked up by 32.19 percent to clock in at 41856 metric tons, standing at 1 percent of KOHC’s total sales volume. Increase in cement prices, change in coal mix coupled with the stability in the value of local currency resulted in 7.9 percent uptick in gross profit in 2024 with GP margin climbing up to 29.13 percent.
Distribution expense ticked up by 12 percent in 2024 due to inflationary pressure. Higher payroll expense resulted in 23.17 percent spike in administrative expense in 2024. Other income strengthened by 113.46 percent in 2024 mainly on account of dividend received from investment in mutual funds. Lesser profit related provisioning translated into 22.34 percent decline in other expense in 2024.
The company registered 28.94 percent higher operating profit in 2024 with OP margin climbing an unprecedented level of 37.4 percent – thanks to substantial other income. KOHC was able to cut down its finance cost by 8.50 percent in 2024 by squeezing its loan portfolio on the back of strong liquidity position. As of June 30 2024, the company had no short-term loans outstanding and its long-term loans also ticked down.
KOHC posted net profit of Rs.8893.46 million in 2024, up 52.79 percent year-on-year. This translated into EPS of Rs.9.06 and NP margin of 23 percent. It is to be noted that the company’s EPS fell despite higher net profit in 2024. This was because each ordinary share of the company having a face value of Rs.10 each was split into five ordinary shares of Rs.2 each.
Recent Performance (2025)
In 2025, KOHC recorded year-on-year decline of 2.88 percent in its topline which clocked in at Rs.37,535.70 million. This came on the back of 9.96 percent dip in the overall dispatches of the company in 2025.
Not only did local sales slid by 9.30 percent in 2025 due to lesser demand from residential and commercial projects, export sales also deteriorated by 50 percent due to high regional competition (see the graph of sales volume). Cement prices continued to hike to account of elevated cost. This coupled with cost control initiatives such as commissioning of 5.34 MW solar power project, commencement of the construction of coal fired power project and efficient sourcing of coal and fuel resulted in 16.71 percent dip in cost of sales in 2025.
KOHC recorded 30.78 percent improvement in its gross profit in 2025 with GP margin attaining its optimum level of 39.22 percent. Distribution expense mounted by 14.37 percent in 2025 due to higher salaries of sales force. Administrative expense also surged by 42.52 percent in 2025 due to higher payroll expense as well as legal & professional charges incurred during the year.
KOHC expanded its workforce from 715 employees in 2024 to 723 employees in 2025. Higher provisioning done for WWF and WPPF resulted in 64.41 percent spike in other expense in 2025. Other income registered 18.60 percent improvement in 2025 on the back of realized gain on investments at FVTPL.
Operating profit improved by 25.21 percent in 2025 with OP margin jumping up to 48.21 percent.
Finance cost descended by 48.34 percent in2025 due to monetary easing. Net profit multiplied by 30.15 percent to clock in at Rs.11,575.15 million in 2025. This translated into EPS of Rs.11.97 and NP margin of 30.84 percent in 2025.
Future Prospects
2025 was marked by a considerable improvement in the domestic macroeconomic indicators. While this development couldn’t be translated into increased local dispatches in 2025, the cement sector is expected to record higher domestic off-take in 2026. In anticipation of higher demand, the company is setting up a new cement manufacturing plant in Khushab, Punjab.
Besides projected rise is demand, higher pricing power will also enable the cement companies to keep their toplines and margins buoyant. Cost control measures such as solar power project and coal fired power project will keep the cost in check. KOHC will also benefit from its sizeable other income which stood at 14 percent of its net sales in 2025.