Lahore: Berger Paints Pakistan Limited announced its financial results for the first quarter ended September 30, 2024, reporting a notable increase in profit margins despite maintaining a status quo on dividends, bonuses, and rights shares. The company's board of directors, in a meeting held on October 25, 2024, at the registered office in Lahore, approved the financial results with no entitlements or price-sensitive information declared.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, the company's standalone revenue from contracts with customers amounted to 2,117.55 million rupees, up from 2,070.22 million rupees in the same period last year. The cost of sales decreased to 1,641.18 million rupees from 1,673.97 million rupees, resulting in a gross profit of 476.37 million rupees, a significant increase from the previous year's 396.25 million rupees.

Selling and distribution expenses rose to 221.58 million rupees from 190.63 million rupees, while administrative and general expenses increased to 58.33 million rupees from 51.88 million rupees. Other operating expenses decreased slightly to 7.34 million rupees from 9.71 million rupees. Consequently, the profit from operations improved to 189.12 million rupees from 144.03 million rupees.

According to information available from the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), other income declined to 6.03 million rupees from 17.68 million rupees, yet the profit before taxation for the period rose to 124.29 million rupees from 78.96 million rupees. After accounting for taxation of 47.23 million rupees, the profit after taxation increased substantially to 77.06 million rupees from 49.75 million rupees. Earnings per share also saw an increase to 3.14 rupees from 2.03 rupees.

On a consolidated basis, the company's revenue and cost figures mirrored the standalone performance, with a slight difference in gross profit, which was reported at 476.33 million rupees. The consolidated profit before taxation was 120.67 million rupees, and profit after taxation was 73.45 million rupees, compared to 49.36 million rupees in the previous year. The earnings per share on a consolidated basis stood at 2.99 rupees, up from 2.02 rupees.

The financial results reflect the company's ability to navigate a challenging economic environment, achieving growth in key financial metrics while maintaining conservative fiscal policies.