POL profit declines 22 percent in July-Dec

KARACHI: Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL) profit fell 22 percent to Rs6.649 billion in the half-year ended December 31, 2020, translating into earnings per share (EPS) of Rs23.42, a bourse filing said on Wednesday.

It earned Rs8.568 billion with EPS of Rs30.19, in the corresponding period last year.

The company announced interim cash dividend for the six month period ended December 31, 2020 at Rs20/share, which is equivalent to 200 percent.

Brokerage Arif Habib Limited said, “Topline in Q2FY21 declined by 23 percent YoY, arriving at Rs8,773 million vs Rs11,388 million during the same period last year owed to i) 30 percent YoY slide in realised oil prices, and ii) 4 percent and 6.8 percent YoY drop in oil and gas production, respectively.”

Analyst Shankar Talreja of Topline Securities said net sales declined 23 percent YoY due to six percent drop in hydrocarbon production to 2.16 million boe Q2FY21. “Arab light crude oil price during the quarter also fell by 33 percent YoY to $43.7/barrel.”

POL’s operating expenditures during the outgoing quarter clocked in at $6.2/boe, 5 percent lower than last five quarters’ average of $6.5/boe.

Exploration costs plunged by 92 percent YoY in Q2FY21, arriving at Rs34 million in contrast to Rs415 million in the same period last year, given fall in seismic activity during the period. Similarly, total exploration costs during H1FY21 reached Rs109 million, down 86 percent YoY.

Other income in Q2FY21 settled at Rs242 million against Rs707 million in the same period last year, down by 66 percent YoY, given fall in income from bank saving accounts, deposits and investments-- with this, other income during H1FY21 settled at Rs545 million, witnessing a decline of 54 percent YoY.

Attock Petroleum H1 profit up 36pc

Attock Petroleum Limited (APL) profit increased 36 percent to Rs2.146 billion for the half-year ended December 31, 2020, translating into EPS of Rs21.56, a bourse filing said.

APL earned Rs1.580 billion with EPS of Rs15.88, in the corresponding half last year.

The company announced interim cash dividend for the six month period ended December 31, 2020 at Rs2.50/share, which is equivalent to 25 percent.

Brokerage Arif Habib Limited in a report said, “During Q2FY21, topline of the company settled at Rs44.9 billion, down by 21 percent YoY on account of volumetric decline (-3 percent YoY; volumes of Mogas and HSD dropped by 11 percent and 19 percent YoY) along with lower product price.”

Moreover, gross margins of the company increased by 217bps YoY to 3.79 percent in Q2FY21 compared to 1.62 percent in Q2FY20. Increase in gross margins can be attributable to meagre inventory loss of Rs50 million compared to massive inventory loss of Rs800 million in the same period last year, the report added.

Furthermore, finance cost dropped by 13 percent YoY to Rs375 million given reduction in interest rate, the report said.

The company recorded effective taxation at 23.3 percent in Q2FY21 compared to 30.9 percent in the same period last year.

BAHL profit jumps 59pc

Bank Al Habib Limited (BAHL) profit jumped 59 percent to Rs17.811 billion for the year ended December 31, 2020, translating into EPS of Rs16.03, a bourse filing said.

Profit was Rs11.168 billion with EPS of Rs10.05 in the year ended December 31, 2019. The bank announced final cash dividend of Rs4.50 or 45 percent.

Net mark-up income increased 39.90 percent to Rs57.62 billion, compared to Rs41.186 in 2019, reflecting the bank’s success in maintaining sustainable growth.

Analyst Mohammed Ahmed of Optimus said that higher than estimated asset yield limited NII decline in Q4. NII declined 20 percent on a sequential basis to Rs13.5 billion during the quarter. Lower than estimated dip in mark-up income potentially resulted on account of higher yields earned on PIB investments, he added.

“Despite the challenging conditions, pressure on country trade and free online offerings during the pandemic Covid-19, the bank managed to increase its fee and commission income by 9.60 percent as compared to last year,” a statement issued by BAHL said.

Total Assets reached to Rs1.52 trillion, an increase of 17.20 percent as compared to December 31, 2019. Loans and advances grew by 4.42 percent to reach Rs510.25 billion, whilst the investments increased by 30.51 percent to reach Rs764.94 billion, leading to overall growth in the total assets. “Due to the bank’s sound risk management practices and prudent financing strategy, the NPL ratio was recorded at 1.41 percent,” it added.

Attock Cement profit falls 6.92pc

Attock Cement profit dropped 6.92 percent to Rs926.536 million for the half-year ended December 31, 2020, translating into EPS of Rs7.02/share, a bourse filing said.

The company earned Rs995.432 million in the same half last year. Interim cash dividend was not announced.

Analyst Hammad Hussain of Optimus in his report said the retention prices remained firm. “Retention prices exhibited modest gain on sequential basis to Rs307/bag. Exports were anticipated to lead recovery in retention prices as demand in key export countries gradually returned to pre-Covid levels, which in turn improved pricing.” However, it remained range-bound in the southern region, despite increased demand, with “South volumes reverting to FY19 base”.

Gross margins during Q2FY21 soared to the highest level since Q3FY18, primarily on account of subdued cost of goods sold. “We believe the trajectory of south retention prices will be critical in determining the ‘sustainable’ gross margins of ACPL,” Talreja noted.

The brokerage maintained ACPL’s outperform stance with future value of Rs182.

Honda Atlas profit jumps 26pc

Honda Atlas profit went up 26 percent to Rs897.654 million in the nine-month period (April-December 2020) with an EPS of Rs6.29, a bourse filing said.

The auto company posted a profit of Rs710.158 million with EPS of Rs4.97 in the same period during 2019. Interim cash dividend was nil.

Taurus Research in its note said profit improved, as sales volumes increased on account of attractive auto-financing rates and surge in demand post lockdown.

The company recorded 14 percent QoQ increase in profit after tax for the quarter mainly on account of increase in net other income along with lower distribution and admin costs, the brokerage said. Finance cost also reduced drastically.