Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSX: PSO) announced its financial performance for 9MFY23 yesterday with a profit of Rs10.3 billion versus Rs64.8 billion in similar period last year. For the latest quarter (3QFY23), PSO posted an earnings decline of 58 percent year-on-year.

However, PSO’s topline growth was visible. In 9MFY23, PSO’s revenues were seen increasing by 62 percent year-on-year, while those in 3QFY23 were up by 43 percent. This rise in revenues on a year-on-year basis particularly in 3QFY23 was due to higher prices of petroleum products. On the other hand, the company witnessed a revenue decline of 4 percent during 3QFY23 versus 2QFY23 (QoQ basis), which was due to higher prices of petroleum products being offset by lower volumes of the same. In 3QFY23, PSO’s volumetric sales fell by 28 and 20 percent year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, respectively. While the oil marketing companies had seen robust sales of petroleum products in most of FY22, the petroleum sales have been weaker in FY23 due to the economic downturn, political turmoil, and flash floods.

Amid weaker sales, the oil marketing companies incurred inventory losses, which were somewhat lesser in 3QFY23 and therefore resulted in higher gross margins on a QoQ basis – PSO’s gross margins for 3QFY23stood at 5.7 percent against 0.6 in 2QFY23. Nonetheless, the gross margin settled at 5.75 percent in 3QFY23 for PSO - down by almost 200 basis points year-on-year owing to lower inventory gains during the quarter. PSO’s gross margin compressed to 2.31 percent in 9MFY23 against 5.98 percent in SPLY amid inventory losses.

PSO also witnessed a decline in other income of about 48 percent year-on-year during 9MFY23, and by around 65 percent year-on-year in 3QFY23 due to the absence of absence of significant penal income from the power sector. Another bulkiness on the OMC’s bottomline was the finance cost that surged by 9 times in 9MFY23 and 10 times in 3QFY23 on a year-on-year basis due to higher interest rates and rise in short-term borrowings.