Pakistan Petroleum first-quarter profit falls 20%, surprises with dividend payout

October 29, 2024 (MLN): Pakistan Petroleum Limited's (PSX: PPL) first-quarter profit fell 20.4% from last year as its revenue contracted while cost of sales rose.

One of Pakistan's largest E&P earned a net profit of Rs23.58 billion [EPS: Rs8.67] during the quarter ending September 2024 as against Rs29.63bn [EPS: Rs10.89] in the same period last year (SPLY).

The company surprised with an interim cash dividend of Rs2 per share (20%) on ordinary shares and Rs2 per share (20%) on convertible preference shares.

Its revenue contracted by 14.6% to Rs66.18bn as compared to Rs77.45bn in SPLY.

Furthermore, the cost of sales, which includes royalties & other levies and operating expenses, rose 2.4%, worsening the gross profit by 22.5% to Rs40.79bn in Q1 FY25.

The gross margins fell to 61.6% as compared to 68.0% in SPLY.

During the period under review, other income rose 70.3% to stand at Rs6.39bn in Q1 FY25 as compared to Rs3.75bn in SPLY.

On the expense side, the company's administrative expenses rose 36.4% from a year ago to Rs1.64bn, selling and distribution expenses fell 24.0% to Rs1.52bn, and other operating expenses fell 3.3% to Rs4.1bn.

The company’s finance cost increased by 36.3% and stood at Rs561.31m as compared to Rs411.81m in SPLY, mainly due to higher interest rates.

On the tax front, the company paid a lower tax worth Rs15.17bn against an expense paid worth Rs18.09bn in the corresponding period of last year, a fall of 16.2%.

This translates to an effective tax rate of 39.1% as compared to 37.9% in SPLY.

Amount in thousand except for EPS

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