KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) profit after tax has increased by 15 percent to Rs11.886 billion during the second quarter of FY20-21 as compared to Rs10.317 billion earned in the corresponding period last year.

The Company's earning per shares stood at Rs4.37 in the period under review against Rs3.79 in the same period last year.

Similarly, bottom-line in the first half of FY20-21 clocked-in at Rs26.237 billion translating into EPS of Rs9.64, climbing up by 7.0 percent on year-on-year basis. Alongside the result, the company announced an interim cash dividend of Rs1.50/share.

The Company's net sales during the second quarter of FY20-21 dipped by 17 percent on YoY, arriving at Rs36.313 billion compared to Rs43.651 billion in the same period last year given drop in oil and gas production by 2.0 percent and 1.0 percent YoY, respectively, and slide in oil prices by 33 percent on YoY.

On a cumulative basis, topline declined by 12 percent on YoY, settling at Rs75.539 billion in the first half of FY20-21 on the back of drop in Sui wellhead price by 8.0 percent on YoY, 1.0 percent YoY drop in gas production and 32 percent YoY fall in oil prices. Meanwhile, oil production remained stable in the first half of FY20-21.

The exploration costs comes out to be Rs873 million in the second quarter of FY21, depicting plunge of 90 percent on YoY, amid absence of dry wells during the quarter against two dry wells (Noah X-1 and Talagang X-1) in the same period last year. With this, the exploration cost in the first half of FY20-21 witnessed a decline of 73 percent on YoY, settling at Rs3.147 billion given one dry well during the period versus five dry wells in the same period last year.

Other income in the second quarter of FY20-21 arrived at Rs1.111 billion against Rs1.585 billion in the same period last year, tumbling by 30 percent on YoY, which is attributable to fall in income from loans and bank deposits owing to lower interest rates, an analyst at Arif Habib Limited said. Hence, the other income during the first half of FY20-21 settled at Rs1.859 billion, portraying a decline of 25 percent on YoY. The company booked effective taxation at 23 percent in the second quarter of FY20-21 vis-à-vis 25 percent in the second quarter of FY19-20.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021