By Ayesha Mudassar

Packages Limited, a leading packaging and paperboard manufacturing company in Pakistan, has reported impressive financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2023. During the half year, Packages Limited’s revenue reached Rs75.9 billion, exhibiting a significant year-on-year growth of 31.3%. The substantial increase is a testament to the company’s effective sales, successful product offerings, and strong customer demand.

The company’s gross profit for the six months amounted to Rs20.3 billion, demonstrating a remarkable growth rate of 56.9% compared to the same period last year. This noteworthy increase highlights the company’s operational efficiency and cost management practices. Packages Limited’s profit-before-tax for the half-year period stood at Rs11.2 billion, indicating a substantial year-on-year growth of 33.3%. The increase reflects the company's ability to generate strong operating profits, despite prevailing market challenges and economic conditions.

The post-tax profit for the six months reached Rs7.1 billion, representing an inspiring growth of 29.5% compared to the corresponding period of the previous calendar year. The rise underscores the company’s consistent profitability and effective tax management strategies. The earnings per share (EPS) for the period under review stood at Rs69.16, showing a notable growth rate of 27% compared to the same period of the previous year. The higher EPS indicates enhanced profitability on a per-share basis and reflects the company’s commitment to creating value for its shareholders.

 Three-month summary

 Packages Limited earned revenue of Rs37.1 billion in the second quarter of the ongoing calendar year (2QCY23) compared with Rs30.8 billion over the corresponding period of the previous year, posting a growth of 20.3%. The gross profit during the three months was Rs10.5 billion compared to Rs7.2 billion over the corresponding period of 2022.

The profit-before-taxation and profit-after-tax also increased significantly during the period under review.

About the company

 Packages Limited is a public limited company engaged in the manufacture and sale of packaging materials and tissue products. The company also holds investments in various businesses, including tissue and consumer products, industrial inks, papers, and paperboard products, biaxially-oriented polypropylene films and cast polypropylene films, calcium carbonate products, insurance, power generation, real estate and starch.

 Future outlook

 Amidst a highly challenging and competitive environment, the company is thriving on the successful operations of its subsidiaries. The subsidiaries serve across various sectors of the economy, providing their holding company with the advantage of income diversification. Moreover, its foreign-based subsidiaries will continue to be the source of hefty exchange gain amidst depreciation of the rupee against the dollar.

Credit: INP-WealthPk