Verdict: Attock Cement Pakistan delivered a materially stronger FY2026 on an unconsolidated company basis. Higher nine-month dispatches and pricing widened the full-year gross margin, lower finance costs amplified operating progress, and operating cash flow swung from an outflow to a large inflow. The qualification is in the final quarter: revenue kept growing, but inferred gross profit and operating profit weakened year on year, while lower tax expense made the quarter’s net-profit growth look stronger than its operating result.
Company Name: Attock Cement Pakistan Ltd
Ticker: ACPL
Reporting period: year ended June 30, 2026 (FY2026).
Reporting basis: unconsolidated company financial statements for Attock Cement Pakistan Limited, compared with the year ended June 30, 2025. Amounts in the statements are Pakistani rupees in thousands unless stated otherwise. The filing does not present consolidated subsidiary results, so this article does not combine subsidiary operations with ACPL’s company-level figures. PSX recorded the exact-period financial-result announcement on August 11, 2026.
AlphaGen readings
The following four readings are AlphaGen model outputs, not company-reported financial figures. They are analytical signals to be read alongside the official accounts.
- Alpha QoQ Score: 86.13
- TTM Performance Score: 98
- 3Y Business Perf Score: 81.44
- Sector Leadership Score: 46.6595
FY2026 comparison: growth, margins and interpretation
The annual result improved at almost every core layer, but the economic quality differed between the full year and the closing quarter.
- Revenue: PKR 44.32 billion versus PKR 33.31 billion, up 33.1%. Higher dispatch volume and better retention drove the increase during the first nine months.
- Gross profit: PKR 12.09 billion versus PKR 7.97 billion, up 51.7%; gross margin widened to 27.28% from 23.94%. Sales grew faster than production cost, improving the amount retained after manufacturing expense.
- Operating profit: PKR 6.27 billion versus PKR 4.67 billion, up 34.2%; operating margin edged up to 14.15% from 14.03%. Higher distribution and other expenses absorbed much of the gross-margin gain.
- Profit before tax: PKR 5.28 billion versus PKR 2.86 billion, up 84.7%. A 44.8% decline in finance cost was the decisive below-operating-line support.
- Profit after tax: PKR 3.42 billion versus PKR 1.73 billion, up 97.3%; EPS increased to PKR 24.86 from PKR 12.60. Net margin improved to 7.71% from 5.20%.
- Operating cash flow: PKR 6.09 billion inflow versus a PKR 394.09 million outflow. Cash conversion was the clearest balance-sheet improvement.
Revenue and volumes: exports powered the nine-month expansion
The annual results letter contains revenue but not full-year tonnage. The latest official operational schedule therefore comes from the nine months ended March 31, 2026. Total dispatches rose 33.9% to 2.659 million tonnes from 1.986 million tonnes. Local cement dispatches increased 7.4% to 1.021 million tonnes, export cement rose 17.5% to 104,836 tonnes, and clinker dispatches increased 62.1% to 1.534 million tonnes. The mix shows that clinker exports, rather than only domestic cement, supplied most of the incremental physical volume.
Nine-month net sales rose 40.0% to PKR 33.11 billion. Net local sales were PKR 16.50 billion, while export sales were PKR 16.61 billion. Management said net retention per tonne rose 5% and total production cost per tonne fell 4%, mainly because average coal procurement prices were lower. Those are management explanations in the interim filing; the annual result letter does not provide a full-year price-volume-cost bridge.
Clinker production increased to 2.541 million tonnes from 1.894 million tonnes, while clinker capacity utilisation rose to 83% from 62% during the nine-month comparison. Higher utilisation spreads fixed plant costs over more tonnes. Combined with better retention and lower coal cost, that operating leverage explains why nine-month gross margin expanded to 28% from 21%.
The fourth-quarter read-through
Subtracting the reported nine-month numbers from the audited annual totals gives an AlphaGen calculation for the June quarter. This is a reconciliation, not a separately reported quarterly statement. Revenue was approximately PKR 11.21 billion, up 16.1% from an inferred PKR 9.66 billion in the comparable quarter. Cost of sales grew faster, however, rising 23.6% to about PKR 8.33 billion.
The inferred fourth-quarter gross profit was PKR 2.88 billion, 1.3% below the prior-year quarter, and gross margin narrowed to 25.71% from 30.23%. Distribution cost increased 47.2% to about PKR 1.40 billion. As a result, operating profit fell about 21.5% to PKR 1.37 billion despite the higher sales base. This suggests that the unusually strong nine-month volume and cost economics softened at the close of the year.
Final-quarter finance cost still fell 42.6% to approximately PKR 275 million, but inferred profit before tax declined 19.9% to PKR 1.12 billion. Profit after tax nevertheless rose 126.8% to about PKR 956 million because quarterly tax expense fell sharply to approximately PKR 163 million from PKR 974 million. Readers should therefore avoid treating the final-quarter net-profit jump as evidence that operating momentum accelerated.
Cost structure and operating profitability
Full-year cost of sales increased 27.2% to PKR 32.23 billion, below the 33.1% increase in revenue. This positive spread generated the wider annual gross margin. In cement, coal, electricity, gas, quarry inputs, packing material and freight are major economic sensitivities. The filing directly attributes the nine-month cost improvement mainly to lower average coal procurement prices; it does not quantify each input’s full-year effect.
Distribution costs increased 42.6% to PKR 5.08 billion, administrative expenses rose 13.4% to PKR 1.12 billion, and other expenses more than doubled to PKR 366 million. The particularly fast distribution-cost growth is consistent with a much larger export volume, but the annual results letter does not provide the detailed freight split needed to prove the whole increase came from exports. The March report did disclose PKR 2.82 billion of export-related distribution cost for nine months, up from PKR 1.84 billion.
Other income fell 47.9% to PKR 746.77 million from PKR 1.43 billion. The lower non-core contribution meant the operating improvement was not being manufactured by higher other income. A PKR 21.06 million gain on disposal of an associate was small relative to profit before tax and should be treated as non-recurring.
Finance cost, tax and recurring earnings
Finance cost declined to PKR 1.02 billion from PKR 1.84 billion. Lower debt balances and the interest-rate environment likely contributed, but the short results filing does not quantify the bridge, so causation beyond the reported debt reduction should remain cautious. Economically, the saving added roughly PKR 822 million before tax and allowed profit before tax to grow much faster than operating profit.
Income-tax expense increased to PKR 1.86 billion from PKR 1.13 billion. The effective tax burden was about 35.3% of profit before tax, down from 39.4%. Full-year profit growth was therefore supported by both stronger pre-tax earnings and a lower effective rate, although the large fourth-quarter tax comparison made the closing quarter especially volatile.
The most repeatable FY2026 drivers were dispatch volume, retention, plant utilisation and lower production cost per tonne. Lower finance cost can recur if borrowings and rates remain favourable. Other income, tax timing and the associate-disposal gain are less dependable and should be separated from cement manufacturing economics.
Cash flow and working capital
Cash generated from operations rose to PKR 7.84 billion from PKR 2.42 billion; after finance cost, tax and employee-benefit payments, net operating cash flow was PKR 6.09 billion. This reversed the prior-year operating outflow and brought cash performance closer to the stronger income statement.
The nine-month cash-flow note shows why: inventory released PKR 3.33 billion and trade and other payables added PKR 815 million, helping cash generated from operations reach PKR 9.87 billion by March. The final annual balance sheet still showed inventory below June 2025, though receivables increased. Cash conversion therefore benefited from releasing coal and other stock, partly offset by cash tied up in customers and tax balances.
Investing activities used PKR 1.69 billion, including PKR 189.37 million of fixed capital expenditure and net purchases of mutual-fund units. Financing activities used PKR 4.91 billion, reflecting dividends and net debt repayment. Export-refinance facilities were heavily revolved—PKR 18.31 billion obtained and PKR 18.01 billion repaid—so gross financing flows were much larger than the closing balance movement.
Balance sheet: debt fell and liquidity improved
Total assets were broadly stable at PKR 50.33 billion versus PKR 50.42 billion, while equity increased 9.8% to PKR 24.70 billion. Property, plant and equipment declined 4.4% to PKR 35.68 billion because depreciation exceeded the modest capital expenditure disclosed in the cash flow.
Long-term loans fell 22.1% to PKR 3.75 billion and short-term borrowings fell 23.1% to PKR 6.88 billion. Accrued markup also declined to PKR 98.35 million from PKR 178.57 million. The lower financing base is consistent with the finance-cost improvement.
Current assets increased 12.9% to PKR 14.49 billion while current liabilities fell 10.0% to PKR 15.50 billion. The current ratio improved to approximately 0.93 from 0.75, though it remained below one. Inventory fell 10.9% to PKR 6.82 billion, but trade receivables rose 57.8% to PKR 1.28 billion and tax payments less provisions more than doubled to PKR 4.42 billion. Receivable collection and tax recovery therefore remain relevant to liquidity.
Dividend and potential Fauji Cement merger
The board recommended no final cash dividend for FY2026; the only FY2026 cash entitlement was the previously paid interim dividend of PKR 0.50 per share, or 5%. No bonus shares or rights issue was proposed. The annual cash payout was consequently modest relative to PKR 24.86 of earnings per share.
The same August 11 filing disclosed that the board authorized management to explore and evaluate the feasibility of a potential merger with Fauji Cement Company Limited. This is an authorization to study and recommend—not an approved merger. The board also proposed moving ACPL’s registered office from Karachi to Rawalpindi, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. Neither action should be treated as completed until the required approvals and definitive disclosures occur.
Risks and what to monitor next
- June-quarter margins: check whether gross margin and operating profit recover after the inferred fourth-quarter weakening.
- Local versus export mix: clinker exports drove much of the nine-month volume increase; freight, pricing and destination demand determine their profitability.
- Coal and energy costs: the nine-month benefit came partly from cheaper coal. Reversal in coal, power or fuel costs would pressure the spread.
- Cash conversion: track inventory, receivables, tax balances and operating cash flow to see whether FY2026’s turnaround persists.
- Debt and interest: lower borrowings and finance cost supported earnings. Refinancing requirements and benchmark rates remain material.
- Tax: the final-quarter tax comparison materially amplified profit growth; future effective and cash tax rates may normalize.
- Corporate structure: monitor the feasibility review, board recommendation, valuation, shareholder terms and regulatory steps for any Fauji Cement merger.
Overall, FY2026 was a strong company-level recovery led by volume, retention, utilisation, lower unit production cost and cheaper financing. The principal caution is that final-quarter operating economics softened even as lower tax expense lifted the bottom line. The next result should show whether that was temporary or the beginning of a less favourable cost and freight cycle.