Karachi: Lucky Cement Limited reported a 6% year-on-year rise in its earnings per share for the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, despite falling short of industry expectations. The company's consolidated attributable profits reached Rs19.07 billion, translating to an earnings per share of Rs13.02.

According to JS Global, the results were lower than anticipated due to reduced gross margins and a decline in contributions from associates. Alongside the financial results, the company announced it would not be issuing a cash dividend, aligning with market expectations.

On an unconsolidated basis, Lucky Cement's profitability surged by 56% quarter-on-quarter, amounting to Rs13.4 billion. This increase was attributed to higher dividend income from its subsidiaries. The company's consolidated net revenue saw a 20% year-on-year rise, reaching Rs130.2 billion for the quarter. This growth was driven by a 5% year-on-year increase in dispatches and improved revenue from subsidiaries, notably Lucky Motors, in line with the broader auto industry sales trend.

However, the company's consolidated gross margins declined to 23% in the third quarter from 27% in the same period last year. On a standalone basis, gross margins improved, rising to 37% from 33% in the previous year. The share of profit from associates saw a significant decline of 27% year-on-year.

Finance costs for the company decreased by 15% year-on-year, attributed to lower debt levels, while the effective tax rate also declined to 15.2% from 21.1%. Despite these mixed results, Lucky Cement is trading at a fiscal year 2026 expected price-to-earnings ratio of 6.2.