News Update Times

Lahore (Nut Desk) A virtual press conference was held on the basis of live stream format on its every social media platforms. Users from all over the world are impressed not only by the brand new features, but also the sense of future and technology presented by the universe vision of the launch. As a revolutionary operating system, XOS is dedicated to have intriguing improvements and provide a better user experience. With its recently launched XOS 10.6, exquisite design, user-friendly UI, comprehensive privacy and security protection and diverse entertainment are well provided. Based on Android 12, a fully redesigned and thoroughly modernized technology inside. Users will be delighted by a bevy of high-tech updates derived directly from XOS 10.6. Lighter, Better From the vibrant UI to handy features, numerous optimization have been applied on XOS 10.6 which is different from previous versions. It comes with a well-organized and clean user interface as well as natural and thrilling animations, which reflects on the icons’ look and every movement. Straightforward and smooth lines, raw and abstract graphic combinations, the strong contrasts between graphics are well presented with minimalist elegance. Meanwhile, various features focus on the optimization of device and provide better performance. Power Marathon technological paces such as Ultra Power Saving make the battery last longer every day for more delightful moments. Combining the exquisite design and all kind of optimized features, XOS 10.6 allows you to activate a smarter and better life. Art within reach When it comes to themes, XOS 10.6 enables users to express personal styles by introducing a vast collection of amazing and straightforward live options. INFINIX XOS says that the live themes will give users excellent using experience, the newly added effects and the richly customizable icons will make the device look fantastic and allow users to appreciate the handy art. Above all, the huge varieties of themes fit XOS users’ different tastes and styles from all over the world. Secure the Precious Life With a special emphasis on users’ privacy, XOS 10.6 has expanded the scope to maintain privacy over sectors. Privacy Guardian, for example, aims to safeguard user privacy by providing accurate or approximate position GPS options. Additionally, the system will delete permissions from apps that haven’t been used in a few months. Meanwhile, XOS 10.6 makes a breakthrough in message transmission, allowing users to delivering a variety of media types via data or Wi-Fi connection and smartly block spam. Ride the Intelligent Wave Enjoy the wave of intelligence and let technology make life easier and more efficient. Linking INFINIX device to the laptop can be an example, which is an amazing and handy feature for users to process tasks conveniently. Smart connection in XOS 10.6 is supported by more sophisticated technology for following the user journey across devices and uniting the various touchpoints, which provides effortless Instant sync. Not only the way we process tasks, but also the way we communicate. XOS 10.6 makes barrier-free communication possible by introducing the Master of Language, a portable multilingual translation expert on device. Meanwhile, with Lightning Multi-Window, users will be able to toggle among tasks faster than ever before. All kinds of activities such as football matches and concerts will also be easier for you to catch with the reminders of Smart Scenes, it allows users to stay connected with the important events around. Enjoy the Sparkling Moments XOS 10.6 customized the gaming ecology that can automatically optimize gameplay. The redesigned XArena helps in winning battles while the latest version of darlink give users the ultimate experience. The all-new Graphic Enhancement and 4D Vibration are elevating the playing field for gamers by leveraging the power of the visual impact and obtaining a new weapon or carrier. Moreover, Revive Countdown feature provides additional confidence while playing, the countdown will tell gamers exactly when they will respawn after death, it’s perfect for stunning playthroughs. In order to provide a rich, dynamic, and interactive experience for the users, XOS 10.6 comes with a blend of cheerful and amusing features, such as Visha Player, allowing users to speed up video, play at the background and view it in a picture-in-picture mode.

Lahore (Nut Desk) Zong 4G, Pakistan’s premier mobile connectivity partner, continues its legacy of bringing best calling offers for its International Callers on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.- IDD Saudi Arabia Mobily Bundles. Under these special IDD Saudi Arabia Mobily Bundles, customers from different walks of life may subscribe to a package of their choice according to their budget and requirements. Zong 4G’s prepaid customers can subscribe to Bundles for PKR 100+taxes and PKR 250+taxes to get 15 and 40 call minutes respectively for one week. While both postpaid and prepaid customers of Zong 4G can get 90 and 250 call minutes for one month by subscribing to special Monthly Bundles for PKR 500+taxes and PKR 1000+taxes respectively.

SAUDI ARABIA MOBILY BUNDLES PRICE(PKR)/VALIDITY RESOURCES SUBSCRIPTION TYPE Weekly Bundle Rs.100 Mobily 100+Tax (Weekly) 15 Mins *6911# Prepaid Weekly Bundle Rs.250 Mobily 250+Tax (Weekly) 40 Mins *6911# Prepaid Monthly Bundle Rs.500 Mobily 500+Tax (Monthly) 90 Mins *6911# Prepaid & Postpaid Monthly Bundle Rs.1000 Mobily 1000+Tax (Monthly) 200 Mins *6911# Prepaid & Postpaid For activation of these special IDD bundles, Zong subscribers can dial *6911#.

Alternatively, the bundles can also be subscribed by visiting the official website https://www.zong.com.pk/international/saudi-arabia-mobily-bundles while customers may get the bundles on Zong Online-Shop https://www.zong.com.pk/onlineshop/idd-bundles as well.

“The offer will assist Pakistanis to stay in touch with their loved ones living in Saudi Arabia. Continuing to address the needs of our customers, we will continue to expand our International Dialing portfolio for our clients by offering more innovative products and services,” Shared the spokesperson of Zong 4G. Zong’s unrivalled international dialing have allowed Pakistanis to stay in touch with friends and family living abroad. These bundles have been a major help to Pakistani in cross-border communication, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

(Nut Desk) YoungStunners new music video will feature Unreal Engine, the world’s most advance real-time 3D tool! The dynamic rap duo of Talha Yunus and Talha Anjum has been in the highlights of the Pakistani pop music industry in the recent past. They have managed to win hearts across the nation with their electrifying music and powerful lyrics, especially since their appearance in the final chapter of Coke Studio’s season 14. Though they have kept their audiences hooked to Urdu rap – Is it too soon to imagine the pair in Pakistan’s first ever Unreal Engine based 3D music video? In partnership with one of Pakistan’s leading smartphone brands, Infinix, Young Stunners have reportedly recorded an exciting music video showcasing world’s most open and advanced, real-time 3D creation tool by Unreal Engine.

Unreal Engine’s 3D creation tool has been designed specifically for content and design creators across industries to deliver cutting-edge content and interactive experiences for users. It virtually delivers an immersive simulated world to the audience while they experience the real-time 3D effect. Being a pioneer in introducing and manufacturing cutting-edge technology-based devices, Infinix has always been seen setting benchmarks in the industry. B

ringing in better tools and assets to create truly immersive virtual worlds, Unreal Engine, in support of Infinix, will enable us to experience next-generation real-time 3D content with greater freedom, fidelity, and flexibility than ever before. Where Infinix bids the audience to witness this game-changing era, the music video is reported to be for new Infinix Game On HOT 12 series which will be introduced in the local market real soon. It Is safe to say that being a pioneer in introducing and manufacturing cutting-edge technology-based devices, Infinix has always been seen setting benchmarks in the industry.

How detailed and interactive 3D technology can be, we will only get to know once this music new video will hit screens real soon. So, stay tuned and do not miss the first glimpse of YoungStunners new music video coming soon only on Infinix Pakistan.

Karachi (Nut Desk) On a consolidated basis, Lucky Cement Limited reported the profit after tax to date of PKR 26.53 billion of which PKR 5.81 billion is attributable to non-controlling interests for the nine months ended March 31, 2022. This translates into earnings per share (EPS) of PKR 64.07 / share as compared to PKR 56.36 / share reported during the same period last year.
 
Further, on a consolidated basis, the Company achieved gross turnover of PKR 265.70 billion which is 31.2% higher as compared to the same period last year’s turnover of PKR 202.46 billion. During the 9M 2021-22 under review, the Company’s consolidated net profit (attributable to owners’ of the Holding Company) increased by 13.7% as compared to the same period last year. Despite the challenges due to increasing production costs across all segments, the Group has been able to secure double-digit growth in its profitability. The increase in Net Profit was mainly attributable to impressive performance of the Group’s chemicals business and overseas cement segment. The Group’s Polyester, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health segments were able to secure growths of 30.4%, 56.7% and 95.9% respectively in operating results, versus same period last year, on the back of enhanced volumes, better sales mix and new product launches in the pharmaceutical segment.

This increase is in addition to the one-off unrealized gain on acquisition of controlling shares in NutriCo Pakistan amounting to PKR 1.85 billion. On the other hand, the Group’s joint venture cement production facility in Samawah, Iraq, which started its commercial production in March 2021, has also added healthy profits to the Group’s profitability.

During the outgoing quarter, a major milestone was achieved when Lucky Electric Power Company Limited – a wholly owned subsidiary of Lucky Cement, achieved the Commercial Operations Date (COD) of its 660 MW coal-fired power project on March 21, 2022. The addition of 660 MW to the national grid will not only play a key role in increasing the energy security and prosperity of Pakistan but will also go on to reduce the cost of electricity and reliance on imported fuel in the long run after the completion of Phase III of SECMC in June 2023.

On unconsolidated basis Company’s local sales volumes posted a decline of 3.4% to reach 5.51 million tons during 9M 2021-22. The marginal decline for the Company versus negligible change in the industry numbers was mainly due to other cement plants becoming operational in the current period. Moreover, the export sales volumes of the Company decreased by 18.0% to 1.56 million tons compared to 1.90 million tons during the same period last year, on the back of continuous volatility in international coal prices and exorbitantly high freight costs globally. Hence, overall sales volumes of the Company declined by 7.1% to reach 7.07 million tons during 9M 2021-22.

Further, with regards to Company’s unconsolidated financial performance, the gross sales revenue increased by 19.6% as compared to the same period last year.  Per ton cost of sales of the Company increased by 49.1% as compared to the same period last year. This was mainly due to substantial increase in coal prices along with other input costs, which was a direct result of international commodity super cycle followed by the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Lucky Cement recorded net profit after tax of PKR 11.31 billion. It includes amount of PKR 1.48 billion as fee for provision of technical services to Nyumba Ya Akiba, Company’s joint venture in Democratic Republic of Congo during the current financial year.  The standalone EPS of the Company is PKR 34.97 / share as compared to the same period last year’s reported EPS of PKR 36.14/ share.
 
The Company reported progress on its brownfield plant expansion activities in KPK with project completion targeted for December 2022.
 
Lucky Cement continued its patronage on Education & Scholarship, Women Empowerment, Health, Environment Conservation and reassured its commitment for the development of society and the communities in which it operates. A recent testament of its commitment for energy conservation and promotion of green energy resources was the launch of a 34 MW captive solar power project with a 5.589 MWh Reflex energy storage to be installed at Pezu plant in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. While the Company has faced non-availability of both Gas and Furnace Oil in the past, with the launch of this project it will not only attempt to overcome the impact of looming energy crisis in the country but will also make its operations sustainable.

As Pakistan once again witnesses significant drop in Covid-19 infections, the challenges posed by the pandemic have reduced significantly. However, the political uncertainty in the country as well Russia-Ukraine tension over-shadowed the recovery from the pandemic. Domestically, the challenges posed by looming energy crisis, circular debt, increased inflation, pressure on balance of payments, reduced foreign exchange reserves, exchange rate parity and fiscal deficit will continue to test the competitiveness of all businesses in the short to medium term. We expect that the performance of the economy will mirror the new Government’s strategy to negotiate and resume IMF program and to improve various economic indicators through sustained and effective policy measures.

The volatility in commodity prices internationally mainly due to Russia-Ukraine conflict, particularly coal and crude oil along with higher freight charges, is constantly impacting input costs of cement. Similar factors have also increased the cost of other construction materials particularly steel, due to which overall construction cost has gone up. On the other hand, due to recent hike in interest rate coupled with double-digit inflation and increasing cost of construction, cement demand is expected to remain under pressure in near future. Albeit in medium to long term, we expect strong demand to come from construction of dams, hydropower projects and other real estate development projects.

Lahore (Nut Desk) Continuing its focus on driving digital inclusion, Jazz invested PKR 14.9 billion under its ‘4G for all’ ambition during the first quarter of 2022, taking its overall investment in Pakistan to US$10.2 billion. 

A majority of its capital expenditure during this quarter was on the addition of approximately 500 new 4G sites, reaching apopulation coverage of its 4G service to 55.7%. This network expansion played a key role in increasing Jazz’s 4G customer base by 27.8 percent YoY to reach 36.7 million while its overall subscriber base touched close to 75 million.

The performance of its digital services during the quarter solidified Jazz’s position as the country’s leading digital operator. Its digital financial service, JazzCash, reached 15.7 million monthly active users and 145, 000 active merchants. Its self-care app, Jazz World, continued to enjoy strong customer adoption levels with monthly active users growing by 23.1% YoY to reach 10.5 million.

Jazz CEO Aamir Ibrahim, said, “We are continuously investing in expanding the outreach and capacity of our 4G network mainly in semi-urban and rural areas to empower the underserved, especially women, to benefit from the digital services portfolio we offer. Jazz remains committed to addressing the barriers to an inclusive digital ecosystem, including device affordability, so our fellow citizens can access health, financial, and other life-enhancing services through mobile broadband.”

Other streaming and entertainment platforms such asTamasha, Bajao, Jazz Cricket, and Deikho, also enjoyed further growth as their quarterly usage increased multiple times YoY. 

Lahore (Nut Desk) Pakistan’ s premier energy marketing company, Pakistan State Oil Co. Ltd. (PSO) continues to dominate the energy market, reporting highest ever nine-month profit after tax of PKR 64.8 billion (9MFY21: PKR 18.2 billion), demonstrating the company’s agility and strength across its diverse portfolio. PSO outperformed the industry in all petroleum products, leading to an astounding increase in its market share by 3.4% compared to June 30, 2021.

PSO’s Board of Management reviewed the performance of the company together with its subsidiary Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) during the meeting held at PSO’s head office in Karachi on April 28, 2022. PRL reported a profit after tax of PKR 5.4 billion for the period (9MFY21: profit after tax of PKR 0.6 billion). On a consolidated basis, the group achieved a net profit after tax of PKR 69.3 billion (9MFY21: PKR 18.3 billion).

PSO continued to lead the downstream sector with volumetric sales growth of 22.0% in liquid fuels against industry growth of 13.6%, capturing 48.3% and 56.5% share of the country’s white and black oil markets. This growth was driven primarily by motor gasoline, high speed diesel and furnace oil, in which the company achieved volumetric sales growth of 15.5%, 26.0% and 22.0% against industry growth of 8.8%, 17.8% and 13.9% respectively as compared to the same period last year. It led to an increase in PSO’s market share in these products by a 2.5%, 3.3% and 3.7% respectively.

Despite the major energy supply crisis globally, PSO remained steadfast in its commitment to the nation and bridged the supply gap by importing 4 additional HSD cargoes from the international spot market to avoid a potential dry out situation. The company added 112.5 thousand tons of new storages and rehabilitated 32.5 thousand tons of existing storages in the period to meet the growing demand of petroleum products in the country. 

The company further expanded its largest retail footprint by adding 39 new outlets, while enhancing customer experience on its forecourt through non-fuel-retail services including quick-service restaurants, convenience stores and banking services. PSO relaunched Carient Fully Synthetic Motor Oil, introducing a bold new look with an improved double handle pack to meet fast changing consumer needs.  

PSO renewed its partnership with TotalEnergies Aviation, France by signing Fuel Supply & Technical Services Agreements. The company also joined hands with Frontier Works Organization (FWO) to develop two state-of-the-art retail stations on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway (North & South) equipped with Electro (EV charging) and rest rooms for the convenience of motorists. PSO signed the white oil pipeline multi-grade project throughput agreement with Pak Arab Pipeline Company (PAPCO) and became the first oil marketing company to provide oil-in for the commencement of the project.

PSO received the Largest Taxpayer Award (Import Sector-Nationwide) from the Honorable President of Pakistan to acknowledge its role in national tax collection and promote voluntary compliance along with increase in revenue collection. The company also won the Management Association of Pakistan (MAP)’s 36^th Corporate Excellence Award in the Oil Marketing Companies (OMC) segment.

As a responsible corporate citizen, PSO, through its CSR Trust gave back to society by contributing PKR 108 million through its Corporate Social Responsibility Trust for various healthcare, education and social development projects. To support NCOC’s drive of a corona free Pakistan, PSO successfully vaccinated over 200,000 individuals by providing vaccination facilities at 17 different locations including far-flung areas through mobile vaccination vans.

The Board expressed concern over mounting trade receivables, especially the increase in receivables from Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited of around PKR 149.3 billion as compared to June 30, 2021. The management is actively pursuing the matter with concerned authorities for the recovery of dues. 

The management expressed sincere gratitude to all stakeholders including its Board of Management, Government of Pakistan, especially Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) for their guidance and support.

Lahore (Nut Desk)

During the 19th Huawei Global Analyst Summit, Huawei held a forum titled “Dive into Industrial Digitalization, Creating New Value Together” to address the challenges of digital transformation faced by different industries, such as mining, electric power, port, and highway.

Huawei discussed how to innovate ICT infrastructure and integrate digital technologies with industry scenarios, and work with partners to create value for customers and build a prosperous ecosystem. Chen Banghua, Vice President of Huawei Enterprise Business Group, delivered a keynote speech, saying, “Huawei has set up integrated teams to dive into industries and seek technologies for industries, provide ICT products that adapt to scenarios, and converge a wide range of technologies to develop product portfolios and solutions to facilitate digital transformation in industries.” Industries have entered a new stage of diving into digitalization, which requires digital infrastructure to be highly secure, reliable, and deterministic with efficient data flow and computing.

To further facilitate digital transformation of industries and understand customers’ business requirements, Huawei continues to launch new scenario-specific products and solutions through technological innovation.  Intelligent mining: Huawei innovatively introduces passive optical network technologies to coal mines.

At the aggregation layer, passive optical components are used to replace active switches, minimizing the risk of electrical sparks caused by network devices. On the device side, the industry’s first intrinsically safe optical device is launched to build an intrinsically safe industrial optical ring network, improving production efficiency, strengthening safe production and improving the working environment for workers.  High-speed urban rail: Huawei provides a train-to-ground communication solution powered by its highly reliable Wi-Fi 6 series products.

An integrated chassis makes this solution easier to install. It provides up to 1.4 Gbit/s bandwidth and 30 ms latency at 160 km/h, enabling real-time service backhaul and ensuring stable operation of urban rail.  Massive edge computing: Huawei solutions also help enterprises quickly process data in real time to meet ever-increasing computing requirements. Traditional equipment rooms at the edge use all kinds of software and hardware devices from different vendors, such as UPS, air conditioners, and computing, storage, and network devices and application software, resulting in complex installation, configuration, and O&M. To address this, Huawei builds hyper-converged data center solutions by applying its All-in-One design philosophy. FusionModule uses a cabinet to replace the traditional power converter, UPS, power control module, and air conditioning unit. FusionCube uses a hyper-converged, out-of-the-box module to integrate computing, storage, network, and security functions, which works immediately after power-on, achieving cloud-edge synergy.

At the same time, Huawei converges a wide range of technologies to develop innovative product portfolios such as data centers, campus networks, wide area networks, and digital sites to adapt to industry scenarios.  Multi-service data center: In online banking, stock trading, and other critical data transactions, in the event of failure in the primary system, it is crucial to ensure fast switchover to backup systems without interrupting services. To address this, Huawei launches the Storage + Optical Connection Coordination solution, which enables storage to quickly detect network jitter, and implements fast I/O handover between the primary and backup systems within 1 second and fast switching of network links within 5 ms.

This ensures zero failed transactions in financial services and greatly improves service experience.  Digital sites for smart highways: With industry-leading 5G wireless and millimeter wave technologies, Huawei innovatively develops a next-generation ultra-long-range high-precision radar, which doubles the detection distance to more than 1000 meters and reduces the number of high-speed sensing pole sites by 50%. In addition, Huawei uses its powerful edge computing platform to develop AI-based sensing engine software that forms an innovative intelligent traffic sensing solution of “radar and video fusion”.

This further simplifies radar deployment, achieving automatic positioning and optimization with up to 95% precision. At the Analyst Summit, Huawei shared its industry practices for digital transformation, such as the Mine Team, Electric Power Digitalization Team, Customs & Port Team, and Smart Road Team. Huawei collaborated with partners to dive into the industries faster and more efficiently, focusing on industrial scenarios to facilitate customers’ digital transformation and achieve win-win results.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Philip Morris (Pakistan) Limited (“PMPKL”) generated Total Net Turnover of PKR 5,345 million reflecting Domestic Net Turnover of PKR 4,497 million, + 2.1% vs. prior period due to an unaltered excise tax rates coupled with Exports Net Turnover of PKR 848 million, an increase of >100% vs. Q1 2021 due to delay in exports at the end of 2021 on account of external supply chain constraints. A Profit After Tax of PKR 1,150 million for the quarter was posted, vs. prior period Profit After Tax of PKR 718 million. Higher profit after tax was mainly due to lower Distribution & Marketing Expenses in Q1’22 (timing & phasing of spend) coupled with higher Gross Profit.

The tax-paid cigarette industry in Pakistan continues to be challenged by the wide presence of non-tax paid illicit cigarettes that are being sold at an average price of PKR 38 per pack while the minimum price prescribed under the tax laws for levy and collection of Federal Excise Duty and Sales Tax is PKR 63 per pack and the tax payable per pack (Excise + Sales Tax) is at least PKR 44 per pack (value tier) of cigarettes. The wide price-gap between tax-paid and non-tax paid cigarette brands has been the primary driver for the growth (current price gap between tax-paid and non-tax paid brands is estimated at over 200%). Excise driven price increases have contributed to the growth of the non-tax paid illicit segment. The government acknowledges the challenges that the tax-paying cigarette industry faces in Pakistan and has in the recent past taken several initiatives to curb the growth of the illicit cigarette sector. During the first nine months ended March 31, 2022, of the ongoing fiscal year 2021/22, the Company’s contribution to the National Exchequer (July’21-Mar’22) in the form of excise duty, sales tax and other government levies, stood at PKR 19,405 million (+9% versus prior period).

The FBR has recently issued the license for Track and Trace System for the tobacco industry in Pakistan, which is currently in the process of being implemented. We believe this can be a very effective tool to counter illicit cigarette trade, however, it is important to recognize that without an effective enforcement mechanism this initiative may not prove to be successful. To this end, it is imperative that across-the-board implementation is ensured for affixing tax stamps on each packet sold in the market to help achieve effective enforcement measures through identification of non-tax paid cigarette brands.

Roman Yazbeck, PMPKL’s Managing Director, sharing his views on the performance said, “The rising geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty and non-tax paid illicit cigarette trade has made the operating environment more challenging. Despite all this, our management and employees continue to be committed to improving the overall financial performance of the company.  Aside from financial performance, we are also dedicated towards various sustainability initiatives as part of our commitment towards bringing operational efficiency, improving the environment, and positively impacting the communities where we operate. All these efforts together have resulted in our improved performance and will hopefully be a driver for further improvement in the coming years.”