KARACHI: The Hub Power Company Ltd (Hubco) posted a consolidated net profit of Rs4.8 billion for the October-December quarter, down 41.5 per cent from a year ago, a stock filing showed on Tuesday.

There was no payout along with the announcement of quarterly earnings, which remained lower than market expectations, said a note by AKD Securities. The announcement showed the largest independent power producer posted a net profit of Rs12.2bn for the first six months of 2021-22, down 25pc on a year-on-year basis.

The deviation from the expected earnings came from the loss announced by one of Hubco’s subsidiaries — most likely to be China Power Hub Generation Company — to the tune of Rs1.5bn against the estimated income of Rs2.4bn, said the brokerage.

In a recent analysts’ briefing, the Hubco management stated that one of the units of CPHG (660 megawatts) had been non-operational since July 2021 as a lightning strike damaged one of its transformers.

“The loss realised this quarter may be attributed to maintenance activities being carried out on the same,” the brokerage said. The top line declined 24pc quarter-on-quarter owing to lower load factors while the gross margin posted a slight sequential improvement, it added.

Askari Bank income drops

Askari Bank Ltd posted unconsolidated earnings of Rs9.7bn in 2021, down 10.17pc from 2020, a regulatory filing showed.

Net markup income increased 7.1pc to Rs32.4bn while non-markup earnings dropped 2.8pc to Rs9.37bn on a year-on-year basis. The bank recorded notable increases in its fee and commission income, dividend inco­me and foreign exchange income while registering a major decline in the gain on securities. But net provisions, which jumped more than 150pc to Rs4.94bn, left a significant impact on the bank’s bottom line.

Its share price decreased 7.38pc to Rs21.47 as investors expressed their displeasure at the absence of a payout.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2022