Lebanon’s Pharaon Group evaluates potential sale of Attock Cement Pakistan

Pharaon Investment Group of Lebanon, parent company of Attock Cement Pakistan, has announced strategic evaluation and potential sale of their investment in cement business in Pakistan.

“The majority shareholders have decided to re-evaluate their long-term strategic options, including a potential sale, in relation to our investment in cement business in Pakistan,” a bourse filing noted on Wednesday.

Pharaon has appointed Standard Chartered Bank as their international financial advisor to assist in this strategic assessment.

“We will be carefully considering various options including a potential sale with due consideration to appropriate pricing, timelines and broader market conditions before taking a final decision,” Pharaon noted.

Attock Cement’s stock witnessed quite volatility at the bourse, and closed at its upper-lock of PKR 259.27. At one point of time, it fell to the low of PKR 212.99.

Attock Cement recorded net revenue of PKR 6.4 billion and net profit of PKR 61.9 billion for the quarter ended September 30.

Local cement dispatches have declined over the past three years amid elevated inflation and interest rates.

However, the recent decline in inflation and interest rates created a favorable environment for a recovery in domestic demand.

This positive trend was reflected in November, as domestic dispatches increased 2%, marking the first growth after 15 consecutive months of decline.

Analysts say the enhancement in excise duty rates for cement would discourage the investments in real estate sector in short to medium term and will have a big impact on the demand side of the equation.

It is therefore, anticipated that during the year 2024-25 cement demand may further decline by around 8 - 10%. On export front the prices are still very depressed and markets are facing tough competition.