Daily Times

Battered by lower revenue and high cost of sales, Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL), a subsidiary of the Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSO), sustained a massive loss of Rs1.24 billion in the quarter ended March 31, 2024. In the same period last year, PRL posted a profit after tax of Rs1.77 billion. According to a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday, the board of directors met on April 23 to review the company’s financial and operational performance and recommended a nil dividend. The company’s loss per share (LPS) was recorded at Rs1.97 in 3QFY24 as compared to EPS of Rs2.81 in the same period last year (SPLY). During the period under review, the refinery revenue from contracts declined to Rs49.45 billion compared to Rs59.55 billion in SPLY, a decrease of nearly 17%. Resultantly, the company witnessed a gross loss of Rs559.1 million in 3QFY24, compared to a gross profit Rs4.46 billion in SPLY. On a consolidated basis, ‘other income’ also increased over 95% to Rs1.12 billion in 3QFY24, compared to Rs574.32 million in SPLY. However, the company’s operating expenses also shot up to Rs1.69 billion in 3QFY24, in comparison to Rs495.52 million in SPLY, an increase of over 240%. Consequently, PRL posted an operating loss of Rs1.13 billion in 3QFY24, as compared to an operating profit of Rs4.54 billion in SPLY. The company loss before tax from refinery operations stood at Rs2.11 billion in 3QFY24, as compared to a PBT of Rs2.65 billion in the same period last year. However, despite the three-month loss, PRL posted a profit of Rs5.27 billion in nine months of the ongoing fiscal year, more than double the earnings in the same period of the previous year when they stood at Rs2.53 billion. Pakistan Refinery Limited was incorporated in Pakistan as a public limited company in May 1960. The refinery’s current capacity stands approximately at 50,000 barrels per day of crude oil into petroleum products, such as furnace oil, high-speed diesel, kerosene oil, jet fuel and motor gasoline, among others.