Thursday, 23 February, 2012profit.com.pk

Bulls prolong parade, indexrises 59 points Page 03

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

ABRAAj Capital, a leadingprivate equity managerinvesting in the rapidlygrowing economies of Middle

east, turkey, Asia and Africa, todayannounced the acquisition of AureosCapital (Aureos), a global privateequity fund management groupinvesting in Small and Medium-sizedenterprises (SMes) across Asia, Africaand Latin America.According to statement issued by KeSC,which is run by the dubai basedcompany, the acquisition of Aureosstrengthens Abraaj Capital’s position inthe emerging markets and private equitylandscape and enhances its global scale.the combined entity will haveapproximately $7.5 billion in assetsunder management, a presence in over30 countries across all global emergingmarkets, and 153 investments managed

by a seasoned team of over 150investment professionals withunmatched local expertise.With an operational presence in over20 countries, $1.3 billion in fundsunder management and over 250 dealscompleted in the SMe segment in thelast two decades, Aureos has built areputation as the leading emergingmarkets private equity managerfocused on SMe investing, combininglocal insight, extensive proprietarynetworks and on the ground presence.through a hands-on engagementmodel, Aureos has successfully enabledits portfolio companies to scale up theirbusinesses locally and regionally, anddeliver value to shareholders andcommunity stakeholders.the acquisition also brings Aureostogether with Abraaj’s existing $650million SMe platform, Riyada enterprisedevelopment (Red), which is focused onthe MenA region. the transaction willcreate the world’s largest SMe focused

private equity group, targeting SMeinvestment opportunities across the highgrowth markets of Asia, Africa, Middleeast and Latin America. While Aureosand Red will benefit from the synergiesof being part of a common platform, andoperate under the single brand, Aureos.All Aureos and Red funds will continueaccording to their existing fundmandates and investment guidelines.the expanded Aureos platform willretain its inherent structure and teamwithin the Abraaj Group.Making the announcement, Arif naqvi,Founder and Group Chief executive,Abraaj Capital said, “this is a very excitingopportunity for Abraaj Capital and it willenable us to further extend our leadershipposition in emerging markets. Aureos is aglobally respected private equity firm witha dedicated team of investmentprofessionals who have extensiveexperience and knowledge of the marketsthey invest in; with a geographicalfootprint totally complementary to Abraaj

with no overlap. Both Abraaj Capital andAureos are home grown emergingmarkets and private equity firms with asimilar philosophy and shared values.this acquisition is an important step inour expansion into Latin America, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa and istherefore, a new chapter in the story ofAbraaj Capital.”Commenting on the transaction, SevVettivetpillai, Chief executive officer,Aureos said, “the integration with theAbraaj Group is a testament to Aureo’ssuccess and investment proposition inthe high-growth economies of Asia, Africaand Latin America. it further validatesand strengthens our business model andwill provide us with access to greaterresources, tremendous synergies in the

back office, newmarkets, and

compellinginvestment

opportunities. i look forward to workingwith the Abraaj Group to further expandthe Aureos focus on the SMe segmentacross all emerging markets andintegrating our business platforms tofurther enhance investor returns andlong-term value for all stakeholders.” theproposed transaction has been stronglysupported by Aureos’ core investors,including CdC. Rod evison, Managingdirector at CdC, the UK’s developmentFinance institution, commented, “Aureoshas been able to build its investmentbusiness on a track record of careful andmarket-orientated investment in SMes,so today’s announcement is good newsfor entrepreneurs in emerging markets. itwill mean increased access to capital andlocal expertise for businesses to helpthem grow and reach their potential.” theacquisition, which is subject to necessaryapprovals from the relevant authoritiesand one group of fund investors, isexpected to be completed in the firstquarter of 2012.

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

B oARd of directors of indusMotor Company Limitedmet on February 22, 2012 toreview the company’sfinancial and operating

performance for the half year endeddecember 31, 2011.As per the statement issued,automotive industry had to face manychallenges during the fiscal year 2012,which includes managing severesupply disruption due to thai floods,together with steep rupeedevaluation, increased cost pressuresdue to energy shortages and influx ofused cars.Commenting on the results, thespokesperson said during the halfyear, company’s sales grew by 6.3 percent to 24,341 units compared to22,903 units sold for the same periodlast year. Correspondingly, theproduction also increased by 3.5 percent to 24,316 units as against 23,482produced in the same period lastyear. the company’scombined salesrevenue forCKd,

CBU and parts business amounted toRs33 billion and the profit after taxstood at Rs1.77 billion on account ofincreased sales volume and costefficiency. Commenting on quarterlyperformance, spokesperson said,“Going forward the challenges forauto industry will be, rupeedepreciation and resultant costpressures, expiry of AidP, correctionin commodity prices which mayimpact rural buying, impact of banon CnG cylinders and conversionkits imports and influx ofimported used cars. the companywill remain focused on improvingits operational efficiencies tocounter these challenges anddeliver maximum value to itscustomers.”the Board of directors alsoannounced interim dividend of Rs8per share for the half year endeddecember 2011.

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

nited Bank Limited (UBL) achieved a profit after tax ofRs15.5 billion for 2011, which is 39 per cent higher thanlast year, the bank said Wednesday. this translates intoearnings per share of Rs12.66 (2010: Rs9.12). Board of

directors also approved a final cash dividend of 60 per cent,which means Rs6.00 per share, bringing the total cash dividend

for the year 2011 to 75 per cent or Rs7.5per share. despite testing times, UBLhas achieved a profit before tax ofRs24.2 billion. this is 37 per cent higher

than last year as a result of continuedimprovement in operating efficiency and

margins. Provisions for the year declined for asecond consecutive year as a result of the bank’s

prudent approach towards extending financinggiven thedifficult creditenvironmentwhilst nPLformation hasalso reducedyear-on-year.net interestincome beforeprovisionsincreased toRs39.4 billion,15 per centhigher thanlastyear. despitea 200bpsreduction inthe discountrate in thelatter half of

the year, theaverage yield on

earning assets improvedby 55bps whilst the cost of

funds growth was contained at35bps, as a result net interest margin

increased to 7.0 per cent in 2010 to 7.2per cent in 2011. total provisions declined by

7 per cent to Rs7.5 billion for 2011, with nearly 75per cent being due to aging of existing non-performing accounts.Consequently, coverage improved from 72 per cent to 80 per centby december 2011. As a result, net credit loss ratio improvedfrom 2.3 per cent in 2010 to 2.1 per cent in 2011. net interestincome after provisions is therefore, up 22 per cent to Rs32.1billion. Fees and commissions generated from core bankingbusinesses increased by 10 per cent to Rs6.9 billion mainlyattributable to increase in remittances, Fi commissions andcross-sell of bank assurance. exchange income increased by 26per cent to Rs2.1 billion as a result of higher transaction volumesand better leveraging of market opportunities.

UBL announcesRs6 per share dividend

Half yearly financial resultsof indus Motor Companyg Sales grow by 6.3 per cent

U

Abraaj Capital acquiresAureos Capitalg 100 pc of Aureos Capital is acquired g Aureos and Abraaj’s riyada Enterprise Development to create the world’slargest emerging markets and SME focused private equity platform g Transaction subject to regulatory approvals

This is a very excitingopportunity for Abraaj Capitaland it will enable us to furtherextend our leadership position

in emerging markets

Arif NAqviFOUNDER AND GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE, ABRAAJ CAPITAL

PRO 23-02-2012_Layout 1 2/23/2012 2:10 AM Page 1

news02Thursday, 23 February, 2012

Agri forum hails Punjab govt’s decisionLAHORE: Agri Forum Pakistan Chairman Muhammadibrahim Mughal has welcomed the decision of the Punjabgovernment to ensure payment of the sugarcane togrowers within 15 days of issuance of Cane ProcurementReceipt (CPR). in a statement issued here Wednesday,Mughal also hailed the decision of the Punjab Cabinet thatdCo could take the sugar in to his custody on receivingcomplaint of non-payment by any grower by the mills inthe jurisdiction of that dCo. He said this step wouldensure timely payment of sugarcane to the growers. Hesaid Agri Forum Pakistan was demanding since long thatpayment of CPR should be ensured within 15 days and itseemed possible after today’s decision of the Punjabcabinet. He said now dCo was responsible to ensurepayment to the sugarcane growers. STAFF REPORT

Engro reduces DAP priceLAHORE: engro Fertilisers Limited has announced areduction in dAP (di-Ammonium Phosphate) prices byRs310 per bag from Rs4, 060 to Rs3,750 per bag, followingreduction in international prices, effective immediately.international prices have reduced from approximately$700 to $610 per tonne. Mohammed Khalid Mir, VPMarketing, engro Fertilisers Limited, said, “this reductionwill be a relief to the farming community which has beenfaced with rising fertilizer and agri-inputs prices and wouldmake fertiliser affordable for upcoming season ofsugarcane, cotton and maize crops.” STAFF REPORT

Huge German investment on the cardsLAHORE: German Agriculture Minister is arriving in twoto three months time to explore new business avenues inAgriculture sector while a German auto sector giant is alsomaking a huge investment by establishing itsmanufacturing plant in Pakistan. this was stated by thehead of Commercial Section, German embassy, SamySaddi, while talking to LCCi President irfan Qaiser Sheikhhere at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and industry onWednesday. LCCi Vice President Saeeda nazar, formerPresident Mian Anjum nisar, former Senior Vice Presidenttahir javaid Malik and former Vice President AftabAhmad Vohra were also present in the meeting whichcontinued for well over two hours. STAFF REPORT

LSE approves formal listing applicationLAHORE: Lahore Stock exchange (G) Ltd. (LSe) hasapproved the application for formal listing and quotation ofthe Units of nAFA Money Market Fund (open end Fundmanaged by nBP Fullerton Asset Management Ltd.). theFund will be quoted under “open-end Fund” sector of theReady Board Quotation of the exchange with effect fromFriday, February 24, 2012. the investment objective of theFund is to provide stable income stream with preservationof capital by investing in AA and above rated banks andmoney market instruments. the performance benchmark ofthe Fund for the period of return shall be based on average3-month deposit rate of AA rated banks or such otherbenchmark as determined by the management companyunder prior approval of SeCP. STAFF REPORT

PiAf condemns petroleum price hikeLAHORE: Pakistan industrial and traders AssociationFront (PiAF) has took strong exception of the reportedincrease in the petroleum prices from 1st of March andurged the government to avoid any increase aspetroleum prices are already much high and furtherincrease would be last straw on the back of camel. in apress statement issued here Wednesday, PiAFChairman Sohail Lashari said that recent massiveincrease in the petrol, diesel and other petroleum priceshas shattered all segments of society includingindustrialists and traders. He said that government didnot bother to pass on the benefit of decrease of oilprices in international market and earned billionrupees, which was a sheer injustice and now made ahuge raise in the petroleum prices. STAFF REPORT

KBP urges govt to consult farmers LAHORE: Kisan Board Pakistan (KBP) has urged thePunjab government to hold large scale consultations withthe organisations representing growers and farmers forany change in the Cane Act. it urged that payment ofsugarcane should be made compulsory through chequeinstead of Cane Procurement Receipt (CPR) and strictpunishments should be proposed for weighing less,deduction or violation of cane act. ‘All these crimesshould be made a cognisable offense,’ said KBP CentralPresident Sardar Zafar Hussein while reacting to thenews of proposed changes in the provincial cane act bythe government. Sardar Zafar alleged that sugar millerswho were present in the ruling parties wantedamendment in the Cane Act secretly to safeguard theirown interests by ignoring all the demands by the farmers.He said the government should have taken intoconfidence thousands of growers across the province inthis regard, but this is not being done as millers werepresent in the ranks of all the ruling parties. He allegedeven ruling and opposition parties were united on issuesto protect the interest of their members. STAFF REPORT

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

AiZAZ Mansoor Shaikh,Chairman All Pakistan Ce-ment Manufacturers Asso-ciation (APCMA) has said

cement price compared with otherbuilding materials and commoditiesshowed much lower increase duringlast few years.

on average, compared to cementprice increase of 6.28 per cent, steelrates were raised by 15.90 per centwhile bricks cost up by 13.14 per centsince the year 2000 till the first halfof the current fiscal. Similarly, thecost of other commodities includingurea and sugar also grew by 14.95and 12.29 per cent respectively in thesame period, he mentioned.

Chairman APCMA said the inputcost over the years has increasedtremendously as diesel prices in-creased by 94.3 per cent in 2011-12,81.4 per cent in 2010-11, 69.3 percent in 209-10, 60.6 per cent in2008-9, 40.8 per cent in 2007-8.Power rates went up by 8.74 per centin2011-12, compared to 5.18 per centin 2007-8 while coal jumped up by111.2 per cent in2011-12. However,on the contrary, cement per bag ratesrose by just 6.28 per cent fromRs328.5 in2008-9 to Rs350 in 2011-12. if we see further past four yearsthe cement prices registered growthof 23.1 per cent in four years i.e. from2005-6 to 2008-9, as it rose toRs328.5 from Rs252.1.

Chairman APCMA said the in-dustry produced 17.94 million ton

of cement in the first seven monthsof this fiscal ending on january2012. this, he informed, is only3.94 per cent higher than the pro-duction during corresponding pe-riod of last fiscal. He said that thesurge of 7.21 per cent in domesticdemand of cement was offset by3.59 per cent decline in exports.

He pointed out that the cementsector continues to operate below 70per cent installed capacity in january2012 while most of the manufactur-ers are not recovering even full inputcost. He said the cement industrypaid heavy price for the expansion inproduction capacity that wasplanned on the assumption that theeconomy would grow at an averageof 6 per cent or above. Unfortu-nately, he added, the economic

growth has averaged 2.5 per centduring past four years that sup-pressed the demand for cement inthe local market.

“We always look for ways tolower the energy cost and for newplants we have to bear the researchcost, capital cost and the cost topursue more efficient plants, butthis is not usually included in man-ufacturing cost of cement,” headded. He further said that energy,which adds more than 50 per centto the cost of production of cement,has taken unprecedented jumps ina couple of years, almost doublingthe production cost, but the cementmanufacturers absorbed the samewith their efficient plants and reuseof energy mixed with heat recoveryand other technology.

KARACHI

JAVED MAHMOOD

G eRMAn Consul Generaldr tilo Klinner said hehad asked German andFrench companies to get

ready to make investment inPakistan in 2012.dr Klinner pointed out this in aninformal interaction with somesenior journalists in Karachi ontuesday night. He pointed outthere was a backlog of projects andinvestments to be undertaken bythe German companies inPakistan. the backlog developedbecause of a number of reasonsthat could not be pointed outexactly, he said.He, however, said he had urgedGerman and French companies toget ready to make investment inPakistan as the business sentimentwas improving rapidly in thecountry amid reports of earlyelections and caretaker set-up.He said German companies were

interested in carrying outinfrastructure and alternativeenergy development projects inGwadar and other parts of thecountry.dr Klinner further stated thesecompanies were also interested inhandling wastage in Karachi whichis going to be the fifth largest cityin the world by the year 2015.Karachi, he said, produces wastagein a greater quantity than othersimilar cities in the world.Referring to economic cooperationand bilateral trade ties, dr Klinnersaid Pakistan German BusinessCouncil was striving to bring moreGerman investment to Pakistanbeside the 12 blue chip Germancompanies operating here.However, he said small andmedium enterprises were reluctantbecause of negative mediaprojection which painted Pakistanin an adverse light. GermanConsul General said he had spokenat numerous German chambers ofcommerce and other forums to

give a correct picture.dr Klinner specifically mentionedtwo areas that he felt should beexplored further between bothcountries. one of them is solutionsand development of infrastructurefor megacities. He said Karachiwas likely to become the tenthlargest city in the world by 2023and fourth largest by 2050. thisposed a real challenge to city’splanners and there was a pressingneed to develop an efficient andcheap mass transit system andstate of art waste management andwater management facilities.Germany had the expertise andknow-how in this respect.the second area mentioned by theGerman diplomat was alternativeenergy sources. He said Germanywas the leader in producing energyfrom solar and wind power. eightwind energy projects were beingset up in Sindh, he added, andthar coal project could also benefitfrom German experience as it wasof lignite variety and Germany had

vast expertise in that.He said German giants, likeSiemens and BASF had a decadelong and fruitful association withPakistan and Germany was alsoinstrumental in helping Pakistanacquire access to europeanmarkets through eU GSP scheme.Pakistan is a very young countryand attention to good educationand vocational training foryouth is the key to its brightfuture, he said.dr Klinner spoke in detail aboutPakistan German ties and saidcooperation between the twocountries depended upon thoseareas and sectors which met themost urgent and pressing needs ofPakistani society.He said youth was an importantasset of Pakistan as it comprisesof 65 per cent of the population.Germany, he said, was keen tostrengthen the traditionalacademic cooperation with specialfocus on vocational trainingschemes, and a pilot project in theoffing. He added the objective wasto impart vocational training andchances of employment inGerman MnCs operating inPakistan. He pointed out therewas a bright future for demandingjobs, like lab specialists,pharmaceutical, technology andpower generation enterprises.

KARACHI

ZAIN ALI

FedeRAL Ministerfor textile and in-dustry MakhdoomShahabuddin said

that the land of textile City isakin to a hot cake for investor,but shortage of water, gas andelectricity has broken thetrust, he added. He was ad-dressing the meeting of na-tional Assembly StandingCommittee on textile indus-try (nASCti) at PHMA, hereon Wednesday.

He said that textile sectoris facing a very difficult time,as we all know that we haveshortage of power and gas andthese two utilities are very im-portant for our industry. Mak-doom Shahabudding addedthat japanese Ambassadorand Chinese companies vis-ited Karachi and showed theirinterest in textile City.

textile Minister also said

that the textile sector is thebackbone of our economy,and the sector provided $14billion to the exchequer, andhence we have to resolve theissues of the industry ur-gently or else we won’t be ableto achieve our export targetshe added. Chairman of na-tional Assembly Standingcommittee on textile indus-try, Haji Mohammad AkramAnsari said that we have totake the thar Coal project asour priority, and the govern-ment should release the fundfor the project, if we resolvethe issue of power then no-body can beat us as we willhave immense potential togrow our economy.

Chairman Sindh Boardof investment (SBi) and Ad-visor to Chief MinisterSindh, Zubair Motiwala toldthat Bangladesh is providingthe gas to the industry, 40per cent cheaper than ourcountry, that’s why they

have 33 per cent more busi-ness than Pakistan.

Zubair Motiwala addedthat the industry cannot runwithout gas and electricity,he demanded tha govern-ment should provide the gasto the industry, as they aretrying to convince the for-eigner investors to the textileCity and other projects andall these efforts are useless ifwe do not have a solution ofthese important things. Hesaid that if the situation re-mains the same, we cannotachieve the export targets,and this year we have alreadylost the investors’ trust. For-mer Chairman PHMA, javedBilwani voiced the opinionthat it is very difficult to sur-vive in this country; there is alack of gas, electricity andwater, in the last four yearsgovernment increased the 54per cent tariff of electricityand 62 per cent in gas tariff,he concluded.

PASA apprehensive aboutlack of fertiliser awareness

LAHORE

IMRAN ADNAN

PAKiStAn Agricultural Scientists Association(PASA) President jamshed iqbal Cheema hassaid that lack of awareness about balance

used of fertilisers, certified seed and efficient use ofwater are the most important factors hitting farmincome of growers. in addition, better farmmanagement practices are other importantingredient besides aforementioned factors toenhance per acre yield as well as income of thegrowers. nevertheless, he regretted that not a singleprofessional farm manager is available in thecountry. Speaking to a select group of journalistshere on Wednesday, Cheema underscored thatestablishment of food processing industries wasnecessary to ensure good return to growers of theirhard labour and maintaining price equilibrium inthe market. He pointed out that when the countrywould have food processing facilities and coldstorage chains, it would remove uncertainty frommarkets and discourage upward price spiral in caseof shortage or bumper crops. PASA presidentindicated that most post-harvest losses were resultof the absence of cold storage facilities andprocessing industry. He criticised the policies of thepresent government both at federal and provinciallevels towards agricultural sector and said that allpolicies were political motivated and not aimed atprotecting interests of the growers and farmers.

‘Cement prices rise less thanother construction material’

Utility shortage hamperingTextile City project

German Consul General wants European investment in Pakistan

PRO 23-02-2012_Layout 1 2/23/2012 2:10 AM Page 2

news

Thursday, 23 February, 2012

03Major Gainers

Company Open High Low Close Change TurnoverWyeth Pak Limited 748.02 760.00 740.00 754.87 6.85 846Mithchells XD 113.89 119.58 119.58 119.58 5.69 103Habib Bank Ltd 118.70 124.50 119.50 123.50 4.80 295,218National Foods 80.05 84.05 82.80 84.05 4.00 4,551United Bank Ltd 63.61 66.79 63.50 66.65 3.04 7,466,635

Major Losers

UniLever Pak Ltd. 5650.00 5602.00 5601.00 5601.20 -48.80 6Unilever Pak Foods 1740.00 1701.00 1700.00 1700.00 -40.00 29Colgate Palmolive 784.80 750.00 750.00 750.00 -34.80 109Indus Dyeing 350.00 348.88 332.50 334.78 -15.22 78Service Industries 204.03 204.99 193.83 193.96 -10.07 5,551

Volume Leaders

Bank Al-Falah 13.45 14.17 13.25 13.88 0.43 26,188,085Jah.Sidd. Co. 10.24 10.50 9.57 9.75 -0.49 21,685,855Pace (Pak) Ltd. 1.91 2.34 1.96 2.16 0.25 18,589,198B.O.Punjab 9.10 9.85 8.20 8.40 -0.70 18,066,154Soneri Bank Ltd 4.88 5.88 5.00 5.88 1.00 14,684,409

Interbank RatesUS Dollar 90.8100UK Pound 142.6625Japanese Yen 1.1323Euro 120.1598

Buy Sell

US Dollar 90.60 91.10

Euro 119.42 120.74

Great Britain Pound 141.45 142.92

Japanese Yen 1.1221 1.1334

Canadian Dollar 89.91 91.47

Hong Kong Dollar 11.50 11.77

UAE Dirham 24.65 24.87

Saudi Riyal 24.15 24.34

Australian Dollar 95.52 98.08

Bulls prolong parade, index rises 59 pointsSTAFF REPORT

KARACHI

T He bulls kept dominatingKarachi stocks marketWednesday as the ongoing

earning announcements by se-lected blue-chips scrips led by thebanks continue to arouse optimismamong the investors. the day sawthe benchmark 100-share indexfinishing up by 0.47 per cent orgaining 59.22 points to close at12,603.67 points compared to12,544.45 points of tuesday.

“Stocks closed bullish at KSelead by banks, selected blue-chipscrips on investor speculationsafter record earnings in the earn-ing announcements session,”viewed Ashen Mehanti of ArifHabib Securities.

the trading volumes at theready-counter slid to 272.371 mil-lion shares after peaking to recordlevel of 332.473 million shares a

day earlier. the trading value alsoset in red green zone and finishedat Rs5.384 billion against Rs6.681billion of the last session. theindex hit the intraday high andlow of 12,664.15 and 12,544.45points, respectively.

the market capitalization grewby Rs13 billion to Rs3.286 trillionfrom the previous day’s Rs3.273trillion. of the total 346 tradedscrips, 128 gained, 143 lost and 75

remained unchanged.the free-float KSe-30 index

too finished upward and gained15.26 points to close at 11,704.88points against 11,689.62 points oftuesday. Bank Al-Falah was theday’s volume leader with 26.188million of its shares traded atRs13.45 in the opening andRs13.88 in closing of the market.

the future market also camedown in terms of turnover that

declined to 13.94 million sharesas against Rs17.319 millionshares of last session. “trade re-mained in narrow range ahead ofoGdC earning announcementdue tomorrow after reports ongovernment decision on idB bor-rowings to repay iMF, easing po-litical outlook, higher globalcommodities and renewed for-eign interest in Pakistan bourse,”said Mehanti.

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

A GRiCULtURAL credit disburse-ment by the banks surged by 20 percent on year-on-year basis toRs149.658 billion in the first sevenmonths (july-january) of the cur-

rent fiscal year (2011-12), reported the centralbank Wednesday. in absolute terms, it said,the disbursement of credit to the agriculturesector increased by over Rs24.772 billion injuly-january, 2012 when compared with total

disbursement of Rs124.886 billion in the sameperiod of the last fiscal year.

overall credit disbursement by five majorcommercial banks, including Allied BankLimited, Habib Bank Limited, MCB BankLimited, national Bank of Pakistan andUnited Bank Limited stood at Rs82.462 bil-lion in july-january, 2012 compared withRs68.481 billion disbursements in july-jan-uary, 2011; depicting an increase of Rs13.981billion or 20.42 per cent. Zarai taraqiatiBank Limited, the largest specialised bank,disbursed a total of Rs26.361 billion in july-

january, 2012, down by 0.03 per cent whencompared with Rs26.369 billion disburse-ment in the same period of the last fiscalyear. Punjab Provincial Co-operative BankLimited disbursed Rs4.980 billion in july-january, 2012 up by 28.49 per cent whencompared with Rs3.876 billion disbursementin the same period of the last fiscal year.

Fourteen domestic private banks alsoloaned a combined amount of Rs28.996 billionin july-january, 2012 up by 10.84 per centcompared with Rs26.160 billion disbursementin the same period of the last fiscal year.

CORPORATE CORNERABf holds 11thGeneral Body Meeting

LAHORE: the ABF held its 11th General BodyMeeting at the Royal Palm Golf and Country Clubwith a strong panel of 9 executive CommitteeMembers and 15 General Body Members. Matters ofsocial, political, industry and services were discussedand solutions recommended along with decisions tosupport under privileged members of the civil societyespecially in the field of literacy, vocational training,and education. PRESS RELEASE

PTCL gains growth in revenue,earns net profit of rs2.84 billionISLAMABAD: Pakistan telecommunicationsCompany Limited (PtCL) has gained net profit ofRs2.84 billion in its half-year earnings made duringFY2011-12 for the period ending december 31,while also showing a growth of 7 per cent inrevenue. “PtCL’s profits and revenue growthduring first half of FY2011-12 is a strong indicatorof our dynamic corporate direction as well as ourcustomers’ continued satisfaction and trust,” saidPtCL Ceo and President, Walid irshaid, followinga meeting of the company’s Board of directors heldhere today, which announced the company’s six-months’ financial results for the period endingdecember 31, 2011. PRESS RELEASE

Samsung leads iTaward ceremony in LahoreLAHORE: Samsung electronics Co Ltd is a globalleader in semiconductor, telecommunications,digital Media and digital Convergencetechnologies. Recently, the Head of HHP and it atSamsung, Mr Roy Yongil Chang was invited to chairan it Awards Ceremony, organized by a prominentdistributor of it products in Pakistan – decentComputers. the event was organized at the LibertyCastle in Lahore. the event featured a Prize

distribution and dealer Sales Achievement RewardsCeremony, for outstanding sales-performers. Aspecial lucky draw was also held to present high-valued prizes to the delegates participating fromvarious it product enterprises. PRESS RELEASE

SAP to arm SMEswith real-Time Analytics KARACHI SAP AG has announced two newofferings that will deliver the benefits of the SAPHAnA™ platform to small businesses and mid sizeenterprises (SMes) in Pakistan. With analyticspowered by SAP HAnA for the SAP® Business oneapplication and SAP HAnA, edge edition, SMes willbe able to leverage powerful in-memory technologyfrom SAP. By helping organisations act oninformation as it happens, SAP HAnA revolutionisesdecision-making, dramatically increasing the speed ofexisting processes and accessing large amounts ofdata in shorter periods of time. PRESS RELEASE

Nestlé Pakistanrebuilds primary schoolKARACHI: At a modest ceremony held at theoffice of Minister for education, Government ofSindh, today, nestlé Pakistan signed an agreementwith the provincial education department to rebuilda primary school located at Peerano Goth near PortQasim industrial area, Karachi. the MoU wassigned by Riaz Memon, Special Secretaryeducation, Government of Sindh and Mansoornoor, Manager Government and Public Relationsnestle, in presence of Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq, Ministerfor education and other representatives of theprovincial Government and nestle. PRESS RELEASE

Turkish Steel Exportersvisit to Pakistan finalisedISLAMABAD: A high-powered delegation ofturkish steel exporters will visit Pakistan in earlyMarch to hold meetings with government officials inislamabad and with private sector commercialimporters and industrial users of steel inRawalpindi/islamabad and in Karachi. thedelegation representing 12 turkish steelmanufacturers and exporters will be led by Mrnamık ekinci, Chairman of the Board of directors,turkey Steel exporters’ Association. According to

the finalized programme, the delegation will arrivein islamabad on March 07 and after meetings thewhole day there, visit Karachi on March 08 and 09,2012. PRESS RELEASE

Khushhalibank, Beaconhouse joinhands for Model United Nations 2012PESHAWAR: Khushhalibank, remainingcommitted to its pledge of advocating leaders andentrepreneurs of tomorrow, partnered with theBeaconhouse Frontier Campus, Peshawar, for“Model United nations 2012”, where participantsresearch a country, take on roles as diplomats,investigate international issues, debate, deliberate,consult, and then develop solutions to worldproblems. PRESS RELEASE

KARACHI: Group photo of Ambassador of Italy toPakistan Mr Vincenzi Prati with his wife, Mr RobertoFranceschinis, CG Itlay, with his wife, Mr and Mrs IrfanHA Vazeer, CEO Finlays and President of the ItalianBusiness Development, Almas Jafry of ItalianConsulate in Karachi, Mr Aamir Jafry, CEO, ArystaLifeScience and officials of Italian Consulate inKarachi. PRESS RELEASE

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

PAKiStAn telecommunicationCommunication Limited (PtCL)announced its unconsolidated

1HFY12 earning per share (ePS) of Rs0.56,depicting a decline of 29 per cent ascompared to the same period last year.However, the company has not disclosedconsolidated earnings that include the overallUfone’s earning contribution to PtCL. “ourpreliminary assessment suggests thatconsolidated earnings would fall in the rangeof Rs0.87-0.92 per share, down 20-24 percent from Rs1.15 per share reported in the

same period last year,” said the analysts attopline Securities. the major reason behindsubdued earnings was the shrinking grossmargins that fell by 142bps to 26.1 per cent ascompared to 27.5 per cent in the same periodlast year, said nauman Khan. the analystsaid the company’s ailing fixed line operationstood as a major culprit behind reduced grossmargin. in addition, decline in company’sother income by 46 per cent to Rs1.7bn in1HFY12 as against Rs3.2 billion last year alsolent its hand in dragging overall earningsdownwards. in 2QFY12, PtCL postedunconsolidated ePS of Rs0.28 showing adecline of 26 per cent as compared to Rs0.38in same period last year. However, comparedto the previous quarter (1QFY12) the earningimproved by 8 per cent.

PTCL’s EPS downby 29pc in 1HfY12

Agricultural credit disbursement up by 20pc

LAHORE: Young fans enjoying an excitement filled dayon the stands at the stadium in Lahore. EmiratesAirline treated fans from the Zindagi Trust Schools tothe third day of the Pentagular Cup final and childrenwere thrilled to watch their heroes up-close from thesidelines. PRESS RELEASE

Our preliminary assessmentsuggests that consolidated

earnings would fall in the rangeof Rs0.87-0.92 per share

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