PPL Q1 profit falls 16% YoY, pays Rs1 DPS

April 29, 2024 (MLN): Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PSX: PPL) revealed its earnings for the first quarter of 2024, wherein the profit after tax clocked in at Rs27.63 billion [EPS: Rs10.16] compared to a profit of Rs32.9bn [EPS: Rs12.09] in the same period last year (SPLY).

Along with the results, the company announced an interim cash dividend of Rs1 per share and Rs0.50 per share on Convertible Preference Shares.

This is in addition to an interim cash dividend of Rs2.50 per share on Ordinary Shares and Rs2.50 per share on Convertible Preference Shares already paid during the year.

Going by the results, the company's top line dipped by 2.1% YoY to Rs74.91bn as compared to Rs76.52bn in SPLY.

The cost of sales also fell by 2.3% YoY but was not enough to offset the sales decline, which worsened the gross profit by 2.0% YoY to Rs51.01bn in Q1 2024.

The gross margins, however, improved slightly to 68.10% as compared to 68.03% in SPLY.

During the period under review, other income fell significantly by 53.8% YoY to stand at Rs3.81bn in Q1 2024 as compared to Rs8.24bn in SPLY.

On the expense side, the company observed a decrease in exploration expenses by 13.6% YoY while other charges rose 13.6% YoY to clock in at Rs3.41bn and Rs5.03bn respectively during the review period.

The company’s finance cost increased 5.1% YoY and stood at Rs365.63m as compared to Rs347.85m in SPLY, mainly due to higher interest rates.

On the tax front, the company paid a lower tax worth Rs16.62bn against the Rs17.59bn paid in the corresponding period of last year, depicting a decrease of 5.5% YoY.

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