Pakistan Petroleum Limited profits decline by 57 percent to Rs5.876 billion

KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) on Wednesday announced its net profits declined by 57 percent YoY to Rs5.876 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2015 primarily because of lower petroleum prices.
“Subdued gas prices and dwindling flows clipped profits in the first quarter of the fiscal year,” Usman Riaz at Taurus Securities said.
The earnings per share (EPS) arrived at Rs2.98 for the quarter under review compared with Rs6.94 a year earlier. The result significantly undershot street consensus estimates.
Shahbaz Ashraf at Arif Habib Limited attributed the decline in profitability to falling oil prices and lower oil production.
“In our view, deviation in earnings from initial estimates can be tracked to lower gas revenue and higher field expenditures.”
PPL’s net profit of Rs5.876 billion is however 36 percent up compared with Rs4.306 billion earned in the previous quarter.
“Improvement on quarterly basis can be ascribed to absence of any major dry well costs and impairment expenses booked during the period,” Ashraf said.
Net revenues in the quarter stood at Rs20.553 billion down 34 percent from Rs30.966 billion due to falling oil prices and oil production.
Oil prices during the period averaged at $50.2 per barrel, down 52 percent YoY.
Field expenditure stood at Rs10.962 billion up 26 percent compared to Rs8.713 billion in the same period last year.
Analysts said first quarter results should not be taken as an indicator of remaining quarters the fiscal year.
HBL posts profits
Habib Bank Limited (HBL) has announced net profit of Rs10.193 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2015, which is 46.5 percent higher than Rs6.954 billion earned a year earlier.
The earnings per share (EPS) clocked in at Rs6.95 for the quarter under review compared with Rs4.74 for the same quarter last year.
The bank has also announced an interim dividend of Rs3.5 per share

which is in addition to Rs7.0 per share already paid to shareholders.
During the quarter, interest earned declined by 3.0 percent and interest expense declined by a meagre 0.10 percent, however the bank managed to post an overall rise in net interest income by 7.89 percent to Rs17.662 billion.
“This may be attributed to the large deposit base that HBL has and its focus on reducing cost of deposits as reflected,” Fawad Basir at Arif Habib Limited said.
Capital gains recorded indicate the bank cashing in on the high yielding PIBs.
Noninterest income for the quarter under review stood at Rs10.019 billion compared with Rs4.459 billion in the same period last year.
This surge in noninterest income can be attributed to gain on sale of securities to the tune of Rs5.235 billion in the quarter compared with Rs107.846 million last year.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2015, HBL has posted a net profit of Rs27.107 billion translating into EPS of Rs18.48 compared with the profit of Rs20.496 billion and EPS of Rs13.97 in the same period last year.
Sindh Bank posts impressive growth
A meeting of the Board of Directors of Sindh Bank Ltd was held at the Bank’s Head Office in which unaudited accounts for the nine months, ended September 30, 2015, were approved.
The board noted with satisfaction the impressive growth recorded by the bank in all key performance areas. Total deposits soared to Rs84.264 billion as compared to Rs61.884 billion as on December 31, 2014, registering an increase of 36 percent.
Number of accounts stood at 337 thousand plus as against 166 thousand plus on December 31, 2014, depicting an addition of over 180 thousand accounts, ie 114 percent during the nine months period.
Gross advances stood at Rs44.596 billion as against Rs41.204 billion by December 31, 2014, registering an increase of over 8 percent. The investment portfolio, mainly comprising unencumbered government securities increased by 162 percent over the position till December 31, 2014.
Pre-tax profit for the nine months of 2015 stood at Rs1,510 million as against Rs1,079 million earned in the corresponding period of 2014, thus registering an increase of 40 percent.
JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company has maintained the bank’s medium to long term entity rating of ‘AA’ (Double A) and short term rating of ‘A-1+’, with a stable outlook.
Sindh Microfinance Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sindh Bank, has received the Certificate of Incorporation from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and a banking license from the State Bank of Pakistan.