KARACHI:
Pakistan Petroleum’s (PPL) profit rose 2.84% to Rs14.15 billion during the quarter ended March 31, 2020 due to a notable plunge in exploration cost and an increase in other income.
The company had reported a profit of Rs13.76 billion in the same quarter of the previous year, according to a notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday.
Earnings per share of the oil company stood at Rs5.20 in the quarter under review compared to Rs5.06 in the same period of the previous year. Net sales of the company inched up 1% to Rs40.91 billion during the quarter compared to Rs40.5 billion during the same quarter of previous year.
According to a report from Arif Habib Limited, the minute growth in net sales was witnessed amid 11% year-on-year rupee depreciation against the US dollar and meagre uptick of 1% year-on-year in oil production.
“However, wellhead price of Sui fell by 5% on a year-on-year basis followed by a decline in gas production by 8%,” it added.
During the quarter, exploration cost nosedived 48.5% to Rs2.54 billion on a year-on-year basis. The report pointed out that the fall in exploration costs came on back of only one dry well (Nashpa-5A) reported in the quarter.
Other income during the quarter under review jumped 25% to settle at Rs1.7 billion compared to Rs1.35 billion in same period last year.
The report cited exchange gain on foreign currency accounts as the reason behind increase in other income.
The company booked effective taxation at 32.84% in during the quarter vis-à-vis 24.5% in the corresponding period of previous year.
PPL’s share price gained Rs5.73 to close at Rs83.05 with 8.23 million shares changing hands at the PSX.
