Karachi January 31 2025: Engro Polymer & Chemicals Limited is expected to post a loss in the fourth quarter of this year driven by higher gas prices for the company.
“EPCL is expected to post diluted LPS of PKR 0.3 in 4QCY24 versus diluted profit of PKR 2.9/sh in 4QCY23 driven by 47/19 percent YoY increase in gas prices to PKR 3000/2200/mmbtu for power/fuel respectively” states Zeeshan Azhar Analyst at karachi based brokerage house Foundation Securities in its research report.
“Other accentuating factors were flat YoY PVC-Ethylene margin and ~1.9 percent YoY appreciation of PKR-US$ parity. Sequentially, profitability is expected to decline 53 percent amid 8 percent QoQ lower PVC-Ethylene margins. We do not expect any payouts from the company” he writes.
PVC prices inclined 1 percent YoY during 4QCY24 whereas Ethylene prices rose 2 percent YoY during the same period. This has resulted in PVC-Ethylene margins to remain flat YoY at USD 323/ton during 4QCY24. Sequentially, PVC prices declined 4 percent and Ethylene prices were down 1 percent during 4QCY24. This has translated into a fall of 8 percent QoQ in PVC-Ethylene margins.
