KARACHI: International Steels Limited posted a 62 percent jump in total sales to 435 kilotonnes (KMT) for the year, according to the company's latest annual report, as a rebound in domestic industrial and commercial activity pushed flat steel demand sharply higher across Pakistan.

Domestic flat steel demand climbed 25 percent year-on-year to 1,250 KMT, the report shows, though imports still claimed 52 percent of the market, a reminder that local producers continue to compete against foreign supply even as demand recovers. ISL managed to grow its domestic market share from 23 percent to 28 percent over the period, a gain the company attributes to stronger market penetration and rising customer demand rather than the broader demand recovery alone.

ISL Sales Growth Accelerates

Export sales delivered the sharpest swing in the results. ISL more than doubled its export volumes, up 108 percent year-on-year to 91 KMT, with Europe and North America driving most of that growth. The company frames the export surge as a deliberate push toward diversifying its sales base beyond the domestic market, reducing its reliance on local demand cycles.

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Production kept pace with the sales momentum, rising to 447 KMT for the year. Higher capacity utilisation drove much of that increase, and the report credits improved fixed-cost absorption spreading overheads across greater output with strengthening margins alongside the volume growth.

Production Hits 447 KMT

Trade protection measures also played a role in shaping the year's results. An anti-circumvention determination that took effect on June 28, 2025 extended existing anti-dumping duties to cover Galvalume products, closing a gap that had allowed some imports to sidestep the duties previously applied to other flat steel categories. ISL describes the extension as support for fairer market conditions, curbing the kind of circumvention that had pressured domestic producers.

The annual report also details an unusual capital move: ISL's planned exit from its investment in Chinoy Engineering & Construction Limited (CECL). The company expects buyback proceeds of PKR 350 million from the exit. Add that to the PKR 163 million in dividends ISL has already collected from the investment, and the total cash return comes to roughly PKR 513 million, about 10.6 times the original amount ISL put in.

That return stands out even against a year of strong operational numbers. A 10.6x multiple on a single equity investment is the kind of figure that typically draws scrutiny in annual reports, and it gives shareholders a concrete benchmark for how the company has managed capital outside its core steel business.

Taken together, the report paints a picture of a company benefiting from a genuine cyclical recovery in Pakistan's steel sector, while also managing trade-related risk and unlocking value from a non-core investment three separate threads that, this year, moved largely in the company's favour.