Sazgar Engineering Works Limited, a rickshaw manufacturing company based out of Lahore, has finally announced its long anticipated entry into the car market. The company will manufacture and assemble light passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in Pakistan, said a company notice on the Pakistan Stock exchange on Thursday.
Sazgar is majorly known in the market as the maker of Sazgar Auto CNG rickshaws and it has now decided to explore new avenues by tapping into the booming four-wheel vehicle manufacturing industry. The company intends to set up a new manufacturing plant under the Greenfield Investment Category featured in the five-year ADP (Automotive Development Policy) 2016-21.
In September 2016, the company announced an investment of Rs 330 million to increase its production capacity from 20,000 units to 30,000 units per year, which highlighted the company’s aims to cash into the new automotive development policy.
The company posted a net profit of Rs108 million in the 2106 fiscal year, as opposed to Rs 74 million in the same period last year. Following the announcement, the company’s shares on the local bourse showed an upward trend of 0.63% (322 points) and closed at Rs129.25/share on Thursday. For the quarter ended March 31st, 2017, the company registered a net profit of Rs 63.49 million while its sales revenue stood at a steady Rs 1.25 billion.
