PSO’s full-year net profit plunges 90pc

KARACHI: Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSO) on Wednesday reported a decline of 90 percent in its full-year consolidated net profit, owing to an increase in its cost of products sold.

In a statement to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs9.816 billion for the year ended June 30, 2023 down from Rs95.722 billion the previous year.

The company also announced a final cash dividend of Rs7.50/share. Earnings per share (EPS) came in at Rs19.85, compared with EPS of Rs194.35 last year.

Revenue for the year rose to Rs3,539 billion, compared with Rs2,541 billion a year earlier, whereas cost of products sold increased to Rs3,454 billion, compared with Rs2,363 billion the previous year, which decreased the profit margin.

Other income of the company also dropped to Rs16.796 billion from Rs25.348 billion a year ago.

PSO stated that despite facing galloping inflation, sluggish market growth, volatile currency, and a turbulent geo-political environment, the company has achieved a gross revenue of Rs3.6 trillion and a profit after tax of Rs5.7 billion. These results reflect the company’s unwavering financial and operational performance in the face of challenging times, it added.

Additionally, PSO’s subsidiary, PRL, reported a profit after tax of Rs1.8 billion, while gross revenue stood at Rs326 billion.

A spokesperson for PSO said that the company continued to increase market share across key portfolios, especially in white oil, where the company increased its participation by 1.8 percent to reach 51 percent of the industry volume.

Notwithstanding the country’s modest motor gasoline sales, PSO managed to increase its market share to 44.4 percent.

Against the industry decline of 29 percent in diesel consumption, PSO managed to sell 3.4 million tonnes during the year, showing an increase of 2.8 percent in market share over the previous year. Building on its leadership position in the jet fuel segment, PSO posted the highest record market share of 98 percent.

Owing to a decrease in furnace oil demand from the power sector, the black oil industry witnessed a decline of 45 percent, while PSO managed to sell 1.1 million tonnes during the period. Amidst industry decline, the company continued to make forward strides in the lubricant segment, increasing its market share to 25.2 percent.

Three new upgraded products were also introduced by the company, including PSO CARIENT S-PRO with Opticore Technology, PSO DEO MAX with Oxidation Resistance Technology, and PSO Synthetic SMO Gold.

Making headway in gaseous fuels, PSO expanded its LPG business with the launch of the cylinder exchange facility at its retail outlets, registering an exceptional sales volume of 40.3 thousand tonnes and a growth of 9 percent.