KARACHI: The profits of Amreli Steels Limited (ASTL) posted a 92.6 per cent jump to Rs601.6 million, translating into the earnings per share (EPS) of 2.03 for the quarter ended December 31, 2021, a bourse filing showed on Thursday.

The company’s profit was recorded at Rs312.3 (EPS of 1.42) during the same period of the previous year.

The company did not announce payout along with the financial results.

“The result is slightly lower than our expectations owing to lower-than-estimated margins, presumably on the back of higher cost scrap inventory,” Ahmed Rauf at Sherman Securities said.

ASTL’s net revenue grew 55 per cent during the quarter, primarily on the back of higher domestic rebar prices which were up 59 per cent.

The operating cost of the company increased 53 per cent owing to higher admin and other expenses. Similarly, the finance cost also increased 24 per cent due to hikes in the interest rates during the quarter.

On a sequential basis, the earnings of the company declined around 14 per cent during the quarter primarily on the back of lower gross margins, down 3ppts and higher finance cost, up 21 per cent.

The ASTL cumulatively posted the EPS of Rs4.4 in the first half of fiscal year 2022, compared with the EPS of Rs1.4 during the corresponding period of fiscal year 2021, owing to the improved sector dynamics, which enabled domestic rebar players to raise prices in order to pass-on impact of higher production costs.