Engro Foods announces profit of Rs 891 million

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

 The Board of Directors of Engro Foods Limited has announced a profit after tax of Rs. 891 million for the year ended, December 31, 2011 as compared to Rs 176 million in 2010.

 Engro Foods’ revenue for 2011 recorded an increase of 43% and stood at Rs. 30 billion as compared to Rs. 21 billion in the 2010. The Company also announced an EPS of Rs. 1.22 (basic & diluted) for the year 2011 as compared to EPS of Rs 0.31 in the year 2010.

 Engro Foods continued to consolidate its growth through the year and during the first half of the year, in May 2011, the foods business raised Rs. 1.2 billion by issuing 48 million shares to the institutional investors – mainly the US & UK mutual funds – at a share price of Rs. 25 per share. The Company’s vision to enhance its footprint and pursue a focused growth strategy led to the first-ever public offering of 27 million shares of the business to the general public at a price of Rs. 25 per share, inclusive of a premium of Rs. 15 per share.

 The Company has continued its aggressive business strategy of growth and diversification and achieved volume growth of 22% in 2011. Building on its promise of elevating consumer delight, the business diversified into popularly priced, high quality product category with the launch of Dairy Omung – a nutritious and affordable dairy product for lower income consumers. Innovation remained at the core of the business’s product expansion strategies this year and we also introduced Olper’s variants of Badam Zafran and Rose flavors which were well received by the market.

 The year 2011 also marked the relaunch of the refreshing Olfrute brand which continues to reflect strong consistent growth in its volume base. With six invigorating flavors Olfrute registered a volume growth of 236% in 2011.

 Omore’s volume increased by 43% in 2011 and the company continued to investment in its brands, product development & diversification and cold chain infrastructure.

 The Company’s Nara Dairy Farm continued to remain a rich and nutritious source of raw material for its dairy segment. The Nara Farm produced over 5.8 million liters of milk in 2011 with a total herd size of over 3,000 animals.

 Mirroring its success in the local market, Engro Corp – the parent company – made its foray within the international arena with acquisition of Al-Safa – a leading halal meat brand in North America – at a total cost of US $6.3 million in April 2011. The business is owned by Engro Corp, but managed by Engro Foods.  During the first 8 months of operations (since the acquisition) till December 31, 2011, Al-Safa brand sales were US $5.3 million and the operational loss was US $ 1.2 million including the pre-commencement cost of US $0.33 million.

 Since Engro Corporation currently owns the equity stake in Engro Foods Canada these losses are not included in the Company’s financial performance. Engro Foods will buy the equity shares from the holding Company at the actual cost post-approval of the Regulator.

 The Board expressed confidence in the strategic vision and direction of the management and indicated a clear signal to pursue a long-term growth strategy by building an inherent cost-consciousness and product positioning for the business.

Experts compare notes on developing corporate sector at SECP Forum

At the first meeting of the SECP Financial Markets and Corporate Sector Development Forum on Thursday in Karachi key market experts, industrialists and policymakers shared their ideas on developing fair, transparent and efficient financial markets and a vibrant corporate sector.

The forum was a gathering a select group of best minds in the market. It was aimed at seeking guidance from the rich and diversified experience of key stakeholders from various sectors and professions, including Mr Shoukat Tareen, Mr Hussain Dawood, Mr Iqbal Ali Lakhani, Dr Ishrat Hussain, Mr Zakir Mahmood, Mr Shahid Ghaffar, Mr Mahmood Mandiviwala, Mr Shabbar Zaidi, and Mr. Omer Moershed.

While opening the session, Mr Mohammad Ali, the SECP Chairman, remarked that the SECP recognizes the need for developing vibrant markets, sectors and market players as well as for improving their capabilities and processes. That’s why it has engaged the external stakeholders in a consultative process both at policy level of the SECP Forum and working level of sector-specific committees. The ideas and suggestions shared at the forum will steer the SECP to be an effective regulator of the markets and contribute to the capital formation leading to the growth of the economy, he said. He stated that the guidance taken from the policy level of the SECP Forum will be implemented at the working level and would reflect in the SECP’s actions in the near future.

The forum discussed various issues that hampered the growth and development of the markets and corporate sector in the country and have resulted in fragmentation in the markets. The issues identified range from the access to capital for the SME sector and the outreach expansion of non-bank financial sector to the SME and rural areas of the country, development of second tier of financial institution after the banking sector, enhancing the investor base in the capital markets, implementation of an effective legal framework covering corporate rehabilitation, de-mutualization of stock exchanges and future trading etc. The participants also highlighted the immediate need for implementing Corporate Rehabilitation Act and De-Mutualization Act and urged the SECP to push forward the process in this regard.

The need to work on corporate governance and restructuring of SOEs, implementation of the national warehousing project to improve functioning of commodities exchanges and the need to clearly define DFIs role for infrastructure and industrial development of the country was also emphasized by the participants. Mr Tahir Mahmood, Commissioner, SECP, apprised participants of the improvements in the legal framework of the takeover and the corporate law that are under consideration at the Corporate Law Review Commission that has been reactivated by the SECP.

The forum in Karachi was the first event as part of the SECP’s monthly programme which will alternate between Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad inviting stakeholders from industry, regulators, academia, media, sector associations, multilateral agencies, market participants, and other important players. The second meeting of the forum will take place in Lahore

SECP proposes changes in NBFC Regulations, 2008

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), vide S.R.O. 350 (I)/2011 dated May 5, 2011, has proposed certain amendments to the NBFC & Notified Entities Regulations, 2008 (the “Regulations”) and have also placed these amendments on its website to solicit comments from the public and concerned quarters.

While allowing operational flexibility to fund managers, measures have also been introduced to ensure investor protection. It is a step forward by the regulator for a more conducive regulatory framework to help the industry participants to benefit from growth opportunities.

The significant amendments encompass:

1. Replacement of seed capital requirements with minimum fund size to offer flexibility to fund managers in launching new mutual funds;

2. Restricting annual equity brokerage paid by a mutual fund to a single broker to 10% of its total brokerage expense, for promoting competitive brokerage services. Besides minimizing concentration risk posed to mutual funds, such measures are also aimed at encouraging other financial market participants to benefit from the diversified brokerage services rather than routing bulk transactions through single or a few brokers.

3. Empowerment of unit holders for decisions on material aspects of a mutual fund including transfer of its management rights;

4. Enhancement of role of trustees of mutual funds to ensure better safeguarding of unit holder interests and prohibiting them from investing in mutual funds for which they act as trustee.

5. Imposition of 5% cap on investment by a single unit holder in a mutual fund with the objective to contribute towards broadening the investor base.

6. Removal of minimum lease period for any lease to provide operational flexibility to leasing companies;

The SECP, as part of its continuous efforts for development of the capital markets has proposed the amendments in accordance with the best international practices and are aimed at encouraging the growth of mutual funds.

Any suggestions or comments on the proposed amendments may be submitted by May 21, 2011 at NBFC.Comments@secp.gov.pk