Karachi: Sindh Abadgar's Sugar Mills Limited has reported a significant financial downturn for the first quarter ending December 31, 2024. The Board of Directors, in their meeting on January 24, 2025, at the company's registered office in Karachi, disclosed the financial results, highlighting a challenging period for the company.

For this quarter, the company announced no cash dividend, bonus issue, or right shares, with no other entitlements or corporate actions recommended. The financial results indicate a severe contraction in profitability compared to the same period in the previous year.

The company's net revenue surged to 1.34 billion rupees from 635.42 million rupees in the first quarter of the previous year. However, the cost of sales also increased sharply to 1.31 billion rupees from 452.96 million rupees, shrinking the gross profit to 33.25 million rupees, down from 182.46 million rupees in the prior year.

Operating losses were evident as administrative expenses rose to 44.08 million rupees and selling and distribution expenses increased to 4.20 million rupees, resulting in an operating loss of 15.03 million rupees compared to an operating profit of 140.42 million rupees in the previous year.

The finance cost further burdened the company, increasing to 24.57 million rupees from 23.68 million rupees, leading to a loss before levies and taxation of 33.77 million rupees, a stark contrast to the profit of 150.30 million rupees recorded last year.

According to information available from the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the company's net other income decreased significantly to 6.04 million rupees from 34.32 million rupees, while other expenses were reduced to 0.20 million rupees from 0.77 million rupees. Despite a net taxation credit of 14.34 million rupees, the company ended the quarter with a loss after taxation of 37.67 million rupees, a considerable drop from the profit of 129.35 million rupees in the previous year.

The basic and diluted loss per share for the quarter was reported at 3.61 rupees, contrasting sharply with earnings of 12.41 rupees per share in the first quarter of the previous year. This financial update reflects the challenging market conditions and operational difficulties faced by Sindh Abadgar's Sugar Mills Limited.