Société Libanaise Des Ciments Blancs S.A.L. published its audited financial statements this week, conveying a more than seven-fold increase in net after-tax profit to LBP 234.60 billion in 2023, compared to LBP 32.40 billion a year earlier. The sizeable increase in income statement and balance sheet figures can be attributed to the company’s use of a multitude of exchange rates of the Lebanese Pound against the Dollar which prompted the external auditors to comment on this practice in the 2023 audit report by claiming it is a departure from IAS 21. In details, the company’s net sales increased by 237.10% to LBP 511.17 billion, with cost of goods sold also expanding by 161.56% to LBP 285.64 billion, resulting in a large increase in gross profit to LBP 225.53 billion, noting that the gross profit margin widened to 44.12%, from 27.98% a year before. In parallel, the company encountered an increase in its selling, general, and administrative expenses by 258.30% in 2023 to LBP 53.90 billion. Consequently, the company’s net profit margin rose to 45.90% in 2023 from 21.37% in 2022. On the balance sheet front, Société Libanaise Des Ciments Blancs’ total assets expanded by 187.39% in 2023 to LBP 525.64 billion, up from LBP 182.90 billion at end of 2022, buoyed mainly by an increase in the value of inventory to LBP 241.29 billion. Similarly, total liabilities rose by 110.39% to LBP 228.16 billion as a result of the sharp expansion in accounts payable & other liabilities to LBP 167.09 billion and the acute rise in current income tax liability to LBP 47.60 billion. The company’s shareholders equity ended the year 2023 up by around 300% at LBP 297.48 billion as a result of the carried forward profits. On the profitability front, the company’s return on assets (ROA) reached 44.63% in 2023 compared to 17.71% in 2022, with its return on equity (ROE) also rising from 43.52% in 2022 to 78.86% in 2023.