Lahore, Pioneer Cement Limited (PIOC) has released its financial results for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2024, reporting earnings of PKR 1.2 billion (EPS: PKR 5.3). This represents a 29% decrease from the previous quarter's earnings of PKR 1.7 billion (EPS: PKR 7.5). The decline in earnings is attributed to a significant reduction in company offtakes.

According to AKD Securities Limited, the decrease in net sales was also substantial, dropping to PKR 8.6 billion, down 15% quarter-over-quarter from PKR 10.1 billion. This decline correlates with the reduced offtake volume, which totaled 0.56 million tons compared to 0.67 million tons in the previous quarter, a decrease of 17%.

The company's gross margins also contracted, reaching 32.0% in the third quarter, compared to 34.5% in the second quarter. This contraction could be due to a slight rise in local coal prices during the period. Operating expenses experienced a 33% quarter-over-quarter decrease to PKR 88 million, likely due to reduced distribution charges corresponding with the lower offtakes.

Finance costs increased to PKR 680 million from PKR 626 million in the previous quarter, possibly due to an increase in short-term borrowing. Despite the quarterly drop, the cumulative earnings for the first nine months of the fiscal year 2024 reached PKR 3.8 billion (PKR 16.9 per share), compared to PKR 2.7 billion (PKR 11.9 per share) in the same period last year, marking a 41% year-over-year increase due to the expansion of gross margins.