Lucky Cement approves 3.2 million-tonne expansion at Karachi plant, 62.5MW in new energy projects

Lucky Cement’s board approved a 3.20 million-tonne-per-year addition at its Karachi plant on October 28, the company said in a PSX filing. The project is intended to lift the site’s annual capacity from 5.55 million tonnes to 8.55 million tonnes, with operations planned to start in December 2027. Once completed, capacity in Pakistan is expected to total 18.80 million tonnes.

The board also cleared energy projects at Karachi and Pezu: a 10-megawatt waste heat recovery unit and 22.5-megawatt wind project at Karachi, plus 15-megawatt solar and 15-megawatt battery storage facilities at Pezu. Lucky Cement expects these investments to bring its renewable and waste heat recovery capacity to about 221.6 megawatts, meeting around 60% of its energy needs when completed.

For the July-September quarter, consolidated profit after tax fell to Rs22.56 billion from Rs23.56 billion a year earlier, while earnings per share eased to Rs14.76 from Rs15.01. Consolidated revenue rose 6% to Rs166.34 billion, and domestic cement sales volumes advanced 13%, against industry growth of 8.7%; export volumes fell 1.9%. Higher energy, raw material and packing costs weighed on production expenses.