Mari Petroleum profit up 25pc in FY20

KARACHI: Mari Petroleum Company Limited net profit increased 25 percent to Rs30.312 billion for the year ended June 30, 2020, translating into earnings per share (EPS) of Rs5.87, a bourse filing said on Thursday.

The company earned Rs24.327 billion with EPS of Rs5.70 in the last fiscal. It announced final cash dividend for the year ended June 30, 2020 at Rs2/share which was equivalent to 20 percent. This was in addition to interim dividend already paid at Rs4.10/share, equivalent to 41 percent, according to the notification posted to the Pakistan Stock Exchange. Operating expenses of the company increased 13.6 percent to Rs13.302billion from Rs11.712 billion in FY19. Exploration costs jumped a whopping 138 percent to Rs10.257 billion from Rs4.308 billion, which was attributed to booking of dry wells in the last quarter by Taurus Research in its note. The company’s other charges also went up 11 percent to Rs2.698 billion in FY20, from Rs2.435 billion in the last fiscal.

On a cumulative basis, net sales jumped up by 21 percent, settling at Rs72.015 billion in FY20 owing to increase in wellhead price of Mari gas field followed by 14 percent rupee depreciation against greenback, brokerage Arif Habib Limited noted.

Analyst from Topline Securities said, “During FY20, earnings of the company increased by 25 percent YoY due to rupee depreciation of 17 percent, which resulted in higher wellhead prices.”

Overall oil and gas production of the company declined by eight percent and two percent respectively during the year, the analyst added.

Allied Bank half-year profit surges 36pc

Allied Bank Limited profit increased 36 percent to Rs8.477 billion for the half-year ended June 30, 2020 translating into EPS of Rs7.40, a bourse filing said.

The bank earned Rs6.242 billion with EPS of Rs5.45 in the corresponding period earlier.

The bank did not announce any interim cash dividend for the half-year ended June 30, 2020.

Banks are not paying dividend after State Bank of Pakistan ruling following COVID-19 to not announce or declare dividend so that institutions have ample liquidity with the banks to give loans or defer loans for the business houses affected by the pandemic. Interim dividend already paid at Rs2/share was equivalent to 20 percent for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Brokerage Arif Habib Limited in their research note said, “Net interest income of the bank settled at Rs25 billion for 1HCY20, increasing 33 percent YoY while rising by 15 percent QoQ.”

Foreign exchange income of the bank fell drastically by 46 percent to Rs687.208 million in the half, from Rs1.256 billion in last year’s first half. However, the bank booked a gain on foreign exchange operations of Rs876 million against a loss of Rs188 million in the last quarter, the brokerage house added. Operating expenses of the bank went up 10.7 percent to Rs14.610 billion in the half-year under review, compared to Rs13.194 billion in the January-June period in 2019. Effective tax rate was set at 42.5 percent during the half-year.

MCB 6-month profit rises 24pc

The MCB Bank’s net profit increased 24 percent to Rs13.209 billion with EPS of Rs11.15 for the half year ended June 30, 2020, a PSX notice showed.

The bank’s board of directors met under the Chairmanship of Mian Mohammad Mansha and approved the condensed interim financial statements for the half-year ended June 30, 2020. In compliance with the SBP's instructions, the bank has not declared dividend for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020. The bank’s net profit was Rs10.674 billion with EPS of Rs9.01 in the same period last year.

Net interest income increased by 30 percent to Rs36.01 billion in the first half on the back of volume growth and 69bps increase in net interest margin. On the operating expenses side (excluding pension fund reversal), the bank reported a net decrease of Rs138 million versus last year, with the cost to income ratio improving from 46.1 percent in the first half of 2019 to 38.0 percent in the first half of 2020.

With respect to advances, the full potential effect of the economic stress posed by the COVID-19 outbreak remains difficult to predict, therefore management has exercised prudence and booked general provision of Rs4 billion during the half-year ended June 30, 2020, providing insulation and loss absorption capacity in case of any NPL surge.

The non-performing loan (NPLs) base of the bank recorded an increase of Rs939 million and was reported at Rs50.4 billion. The increase was primarily on account of currency devaluation impact of foreign currency denominated NPLs with no significant accretion in the number of cases.

The coverage and infection ratios of the bank were reported at 94.02 percent and 9.91 percent, respectively. Return on assets and return on equity improved to 1.66 percent and 18.16 percent respectively, whereas book value per share was reported at Rs122.93. While complying with the regulatory capital requirements, the bank’s total capital adequacy ratio is 20.51 percent against the requirement of 11.50 percent. The bank enjoys highest local credit ratings of AAA / A1+ categories for long-term and short-term respectively, based on PACRA notification dated June 26, 2020.

ICI Pakistan year-end profit slips 6pc

ICI Pakistan Limited profit declined six percent to Rs2.361 billion in the year ended June 30, 2020 with EPS of Rs27.37, a bourse filing said.

The company earned Rs2.536 billion with EPS of Rs27.34 last year. The company announced final cash dividend for the year ended June 30, 2020 at Rs5/share which was equivalent to 50 percent.

This was in addition to interim dividend already paid at Rs11/share which was equivalent to 110 percent.

Net turnover of the company declined seven percent to Rs55.256 in FY2020, compared to Rs59.382 in FY2019, the notice said. Cost of sales of the company were Rs44.339 billion in the year ended June 30, 2020, less than FY2019 cost of Rs49.637 billion.

Brokerage Arif Habib Limited in their research note said gross margins of the company remained stable on a YoY basis, witnessed at 17 percent during Q4FY20.

However, the margins went down by 376bps on a QoQ basis, mainly led by volumetric decline, the brokerage house added.

Along with the result, the company also announced the capacity expansion of Light Soda Ash by 125,000 tons per annum compared to 75,000 tons per annum announced earlier. With this, total capacity would increase to 550,000 tons per annum from current level of 425,000 tons per annum.