Atlas Battery Limited (PSX: ATBA) was incorporated in Pakistan as a public limited company in 1966. The company manufactures and sells automotive, motorcycle batteries and energy storage batteries and allied products. Shirazi Investments (Private) Limited is the holding company of ATBA holding 58. 86 percent of its shares. The company has signed a technical collaboration with Japan Storage Battery Co. Limited for the production and sale of Japanese batteries in Pakistan. ATBA also boasts itself to be the first battery manufacturer to launch branded distilled water and hybrid battery. Pattern of Shareholding As of June 30, 2026, ATBA has 35. 017 million shares outstanding which are held by 4134 shareholders. Associated companies, undertakings and related parties form the largest shareholder category holding 77. 44 percent of ATBA’s shares. Within this category, Shirazi Investments (Private) Limited tops with 58. 86 percent shares followed by GS Yuasa International Limited – Japan with 15 percent shares. Associated companies are followed by local general public having 18. 94 percent stake in the company and joint stock companies accounting for 3. 46 percent shares of ATBA. The remaining shares are held by other categories of shareholders. Historical Performance (2021-26) ATBA’s topline which was following an upward trajectory until 2023 posted a decline in the following years. Its bottomline which was in the negative zone in 2020, posted a staggering turnaround in 2021. In 2022, ATBA’s bottomline took a plunge only to come back stronger in the next year. In 2024 and 2025, the bottomline considerably shrank and ended up in the negative zone in 2026. ATBA’s margins also followed a comparable route as its bottomline. The detailed performance review of the period under consideration is given below. 2021 was characterized by a stable macroeconomic environment as the effects of COVID-19 began to subside. The automobile industry also rebounded owing to low interest rate which augmented the purchasing power of customers. Consequently, the demand of automobile recoiled which also generated demand for the automotive battery. As businesses and industries started operating in full swing after the lockdown period, there was a widespread power deficiency, resulting in improved demand of UPS batteries. Moreover, a significant boost in the sales of solar panels in the off-grid areas further buttressed the demand of medium and small batteries. Improved sales volume and prices drove up ATBA’s topline by 59 percent year-on-year to clock in at Rs. 19, 955. 087 million in 2021. This coupled with cost control measures resulted in gross profit multiplying by 159. 58 percent in 2021 with GP margin mounting 11. 43 percent from 7 percent in 2020. Distribution expense enlarged by 33. 77 percent year-on-year in 2021 as the company undertook widespread advertisement and sales promotion drives during the year. Furthermore, improved sales volume resulted in greater freight & forwarding charges incurred during the year. ATBA’s workforce grew from 296 employees in 2020 to 337 employees in 2021, resulting in higher payroll expense. This pushed up the administrative expense by 41. 32 percent in 2021. However, operating expenses as a proportion of sales remained intact. Other income rose by 55. 58 percent in 2021 as a result of dividend income, interest income, scrap sales as well as exchange gain. However, this was nullified by 135. 81 percent rise in other expense as the company did increased profit-related provisioning. All these factors culminated into 552. 12 percent bugger operating profit posted by the company in 2021 with OP margin reaching 6. 7 percent from 1. 63 percent in 2020. Finance cost which had been on the rise since 2018 gave some respite in 2021 owing to low discount rate. ATBA registered net profit of Rs. 895. 97 million in 2021 with EPS of Rs. 31. 98 and NP margin of 4. 5 percent. This was against the net loss of Rs. 327. 099 million and loss per share of Rs. 13. 43 recorded in 2020. 2022 was another encouraging year in a row where topline took 25. 43 percent year-on-year flight to clock in at Rs. 25, 029. 244 million. This was on the back of improved volumes, better sales mix and prices. Demand for heavy and medium sized batteries for UPS, solar and generators remained vigorous during the year. However, increase in the cost of sales mainly due to elevated prices of raw materials in the global market, declining value of Pak Rupee, high indigenous inflation and energy cost didn’t allow ATBA’s healthy topline to trickle down into an encouraging GP margin. ATBA’s GP margin dipped to 10. 87 percent in 2022 despite 19. 28 percent rise in gross profit. Distribution expense hiked by 23. 72 percent year-on-year in 2022 on account of increased freight & forwarding due to higher sales volume and escalated prices of POL products. Increased advertising and promotion budget also contributed towards higher distribution expense incurred by ATBA in 2022. Administrative expense also swelled by 18. 32 percent in 2022 due to enhancement in the workforce to 346 employees along with adjustment of minimum wage rate in line with soaring inflation. Higher exchange loss drove other expense up by 31. 75 percent in 2022. Other income declined by 31. 50 percent year-on-year in 2022 on account of negligible dividend and interest income made during the year. ATBA’s operating profit expanded by 14. 52 percent in 2022, however, OP margin fell to 6. 10 percent. 181. 35 percent higher finance cost incurred by the company in 2022 was the consequence of higher discount rate. Net profit declined by 23 percent year-on-year in 2022 to clock in at Rs. 689. 44 million with EPS of Rs. 19. 69 and NP margin of 2. 75 percent. With 67. 23 percent year-on-year escalation, ATBA’s topline clocked in at Rs. 41, 855. 868 million in 2023. With load shedding and power outrages rampant in both rural and urban areas, the demand of batteries grew manifold which to a great extent nullified the lower demand from automobile industry. Encouraging demand in the replacement market coupled with better prices resulted in 137. 14 percent year-on-year growth in ATBA’s gross profit in 2023 with its GP margin reaching its optimum level of 15. 42 percent. Distribution cost surged by 73. 24 percent year-on-year in 2023 on account of rigorous advertising and sales promotion drives conducted by the company coupled with higher freight & forwarding charges on the back of improved sales volume. Higher petroleum prices also contributed in driving up distribution expense in 2023. Administrative expense also surged by 64. 17 percent in 2023 mainly on account of higher payroll expense. ATBA’s workforce stood at 352 employees in 2023 versus 346 employees in the previous year. Increased profit related provisioning and exchange loss drove up other expense by 219. 34 percent in 2023. Other income also magnified by 108. 21 percent in 2023 due to higher dividend income and scrap sales made during the year. Operating profit increased by 178. 32 percent in 2023 with OP margin climbing up to 10. 15 percent. Finance cost soared by 41. 76 percent year-on-year in 2023 with gearing ratio reaching its highest level of 41 percent versus 16 percent in the previous year. During the year, the company made significant borrowings to meet its working capital requirements. Besides, ATBA also borrowed Rs. 750 million under diminishing Musharaka arrangement to finance BMR. The bottomline also took a hit from super tax imposed during the year but still managed to build up by 219. 28 percent in 2023 to clock in at Rs. 2201. 24 million with EPS of Rs. 62. 86 and NP margin of 5. 26 percent. During 2024, ATBA’s topline shrank by 0. 92 percent to clock in at Rs. 41, 470. 592 million. Weaker demand, high borrowing rates and import restrictions resulted in meager performance of automobile industry in 2024 which produced profound negative effect on the demand of batteries. Although demand of tall batteries increased during the year due to rising demand of solar panels, it couldn’t provide any impetus to ATBA’s net sales in 2024. Cost of sales grew by 0. 37 percent in 2024 mainly on account of elevated energy tariff and other input costs. This resulted in 8 percent contraction in ATBA’s gross profit in 2024 with GP margin falling down to 14. 31 percent. Distribution expense inched up by only 0. 47 percent in 2024 due to reduced sales volume and lesser advertisement & sales promotion drives conducted during the year. Administrative expense escalated by 31. 34 percent in 2024 due to higher payroll expense due to inflationary pressure. Number of employees was reduced to 346 in 2024. Other income strengthened by 38 percent in 2024 mainly driven by exchange gain and dividend income. Lesser profit related provisioning and no exchange loss incurred during the year squeezed other expense by 50. 7 percent in 2024. ATBA recorded 10. 83 percent plunge in its operating profit in 2024 with OP margin falling down to 9. 14 percent. Finance cost surged by 193. 33 percent in 2024 due to higher discount rate and increased short-term borrowings obtained during the year. This resulted in ATBA’s gearing ratio jumping up to 53 percent in 2024. Net profit slid by 38. 96 percent to clock in at Rs. 1343. 649 million in 2024 with EPS of Rs. 38. 37 and NP margin of 3. 24 percent. ATBA’s net sales which started eroding in 2024 continued the same trajectory in 2025 with year-on-year decline of 15. 12 percent to clock in at Rs. 35, 201. 281 million. While demand from OEMs and power consumers posted steady growth during the year, thinner topline was the result of decline in the demand of battery in the replacement market on account of shrunken pockets of consumers due to sustained period of high inflation. Moreover, the shift in the consumer preference from heavy to medium batteries also squeezed the demand in 2025. Intensified price competition didn’t allow ATBA to increase its prices in accordance with the cost spike. This resulted in 33. 26 percent thinner gross profit in 2025 and GP margin falling down to 11. 25 percent. Distribution and administrative expenses ticked up by 6. 54 percent and 1. 71 percent respectively in 2025 due to inflationary pressure. Other income deteriorated by 10. 69 percent in 2025 due to no exchange gain and thinner dividend income recorded during the year. Lower provisioning for WWF, WPPF and ECL drove other expense down by 59. 53 percent in 2025. Operating profit tapered off by 52. 14 percent in 2025 with OP margin falling down to 5. 15 percent. Finance cost slumped by 26. 62 percent in 2025 due to monetary easing and reduced working capital related borrowings obtained during the year. ATBA recorded 93. 21 percent decline in its net profit which stood at Rs. 91. 205 million in 2025 with EPS of Rs. 2. 60 and NP margin of 0. 26 percent. Recent Performance (2026) In 2026, ATBA posted 0. 80 percent year-on-year decline in its net sales which clocked in at Rs. 34, 920. 913 million. ATBA’s topline was hit hard by petite demand from the replacement market and price sensitivity of the customers. While the market for automotive batteries expanded during the year, customers’ focus towards medium capacity batteries and the availability of cheaper imported Chinese lithium batteries marred the demand of heavy duty lead acid batteries. During the year, a wide shift was witnessed towards low ampere and maintenance free batteries. To capture market share, ATBA opted for competitive pricing strategy during the year to enhance its sales albeit at lower margins. This coupled with a spike in raw material prices in the last quarter of FY26 resulted in 25. 29 percent deterioration in ATBA’s gross profit in 2026 with GP margin falling down to 8. 47 percent. Distribution expense surged by 10 percent in 2026 due to better sales volume of maintenance free batteries and robust demand from motorcycle segment. Higher fuel cost in the aftermath of Middle East crisis also pushed up the freight charges in 2026. Conversely, administrative expense dropped by 13 percent in 2026 because the company further streamlined its workforce from 343 employees in 2025 to 333 employees in 2026. Lesser provisioning done for WWF, WPPF and ECL and lower exchange loss were the causes of 39. 44 percent decline in other expense in 2026. Other expense was completely offset by other income of Rs. 304. 674 million recognized in 2026, up 241. 52 percent year-on-year. Superior other income was the impact of discounting on Sindh Development and maintenance – infrastructure cess. ATBA registered 45. 21 percent thinner operating profit in 2025 with OP margin sliding down to 2. 85 percent. 22. 66 percent plunge in finance cost in 2026 was the result of monetary easing. ATBA posted net loss of Rs. 370. 687 million in 2026. This translated into loss per share of Rs. 10. 59 in 2026. Future Prospects The improved performance of the automobile industry will positively impact the demand of batteries. This coupled with increased consumer inclination towards environmentally sustainable and cost efficient power solutions and energy storage needs will keep the demand of batteries buoyant. In order to improve its margins and profitability, the company must also focus on attaining operational efficiency as well as diversification of product lines and geographical markets.
Atlas Battery Limited: performance and outlook
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