Karachi: On January 28, 2025, International Steels Limited (ISL) announced its unaudited financial results for the six months ending December 31, 2024, revealing a substantial decrease in profitability. The company's Board of Directors, during a meeting held at its registered office, reviewed and approved the financial statements, which highlighted a challenging financial period for the steel manufacturing giant.

According to the financial report, ISL's revenue from contracts with customers amounted to 31.80 billion rupees for the half-year ending December 31, 2024, representing a significant decline from the 39.74 billion rupees recorded during the same period in 2023. The company's gross profit also fell sharply to 2.38 billion rupees, compared to the previous year's 5.31 billion rupees. This decline in profitability was primarily attributed to increased costs of sales, which stood at 29.42 billion rupees, a reduction from the previous year's 34.43 billion rupees.

The company's operating profit for the period was reported at 1.32 billion rupees, a stark decrease from the 4.13 billion rupees recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year. The financial strain was further compounded by a rise in finance costs, which increased to 559.15 million rupees from 371.29 million rupees in the previous year.

Despite the challenging financial performance, ISL reported a profit before income tax of 826.61 million rupees, down from 3.39 billion rupees in the previous year. The income tax expense for the period was 292.52 million rupees, resulting in a profit for the year of 534.09 million rupees, significantly lower than the 2.35 billion rupees reported in the same period last year.

The company's earnings per share also reflected this downturn, with a basic and diluted earnings per share of 1.23 rupees, compared to 5.41 rupees in the corresponding period of 2023.

According to information available from the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), there were no announcements regarding cash dividends, bonus shares, right shares, or any other corporate actions for the period. This decision reflects the company's cautious approach amidst a challenging economic and market environment.

The designated market category for International Steels Limited is the manufacturing sector, with a specific focus on steel production. As the company navigates through these financial challenges, stakeholders and market observers will be closely monitoring any strategic moves ISL might undertake to bolster its financial performance in the coming periods.