Pakistan State Oil reports net profit

Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has announced a net profit of PKR 6.2 billion ($22.4 million) for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, compared with a loss of PKR 10.4 billion in the same period last year.

The earnings per share (EPS) for the period came in at PKR 13.42, compared with a loss per share of PKR 25.09 in the corresponding period last year.

The result exceeded market expectations primarily due to a lower-than-estimated effective tax rate, which was 53% compared with 66% in the previous quarter.

Sales revenues decreased by 3% during the quarter compared with last year due to lower petroleum product prices. However, the company's petroleum offtakes increased by 7% to 2.0 million tons during the quarter compared with last year.

Finance costs plunged by 42% year-over-year to PKR 8.8 billion in 2QFY25 due to a 19% fall in short-term borrowings. The company booked an effective tax rate of 52.6% in 2QFY25.

The company's receivables decreased slightly by 0.16% on a quarterly basis, with trade debts falling to PKR 467.4 billion in 2QFY25, attributable to payments received from HUBCO. The company continues to have 100% cash collection during the quarter.

For the six-month period, the company posted net profit of PKR 8.05 billion translating into EPS of PKR 19.48 compared with the profit of PKR 14.8 billion and EPS of PKR 26.01 in the same period last year.