Pakistan State Oil Company Limited’s (PSO) profit-after-tax (PAT) doubled, clocking in at Rs19.65 billion for the year ended June 30, 2024. In the same period of the previous year, the country’s largest oil marketing company (OMC) saw a PAT of Rs9.82 billion. According to a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday, the company’s board of directors met on August 27 to review the company’s financial and operational performance and announced a final cash dividend at the rate of Rs10 per share i.e. 100%. Earnings per share (EPS) were recorded at Rs39.04 in FY2024 as compared to EPS of Rs19.85 in the same period last year (SPLY). Net sales rose to Rs3.74 trillion compared to Rs3.54 trillion in SPLY, which is an increase of nearly 6%. Consequently, the company’s gross profit improved 33%, clocking in at Rs111.9 billion in 2024, compared to Rs84.4 billion in SPLY. PSO’s profit margin improved to 3% in 2024 as compared to 2.4% in 2023. On a consolidated basis, the OMC’s ‘other income’ surged to Rs28.3 billion in 2024, compared to Rs16.8 billion in SPLY, an increase of over 68%. Meanwhile, operating expenses increased 40% to Rs37.7 billion in 2024, as compared to Rs26.9 billion in SPLY. Resultantly, PSO operational profit rose to Rs102.5 billion in 2024, up by 38%. On the other hand, cost of finance increased to Rs55.97 billion in the year ended June 30, 2024, as compared to Rs43.41 billion in same period last year, a jump of 29%. The higher finance cost during the period could be attributed to the rise in interest rate during the period. The OMC’s profit before tax clocked in at Rs36.1 billion in 2024, as compared to Rs18.2 billion in 2023. Standard Chartered: Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited (SCBPL), a subsidiary of Standard Chartered Plc, posted earnings of Rs10.24 billion in the three months that ended June 30, 2024, up nearly 7% from the profit-after-tax Rs9.59 billion recorded in the same period of the preceding year. As per SCBPL’s latest financial results filed to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday, the earnings per share of the bank stood at Rs2.65 in the three-month period, an increase of EPS from Rs2.48. The Board of Directors of the bank also recommended second interim cash dividend at 20% i.e. Rs2 per share of Rs10 each. This is in addition to first interim dividend already paid at 15% i.e. Rs1.5 per share of Rs10 each for the year ending 31 December 2024. During the period, Standard Chartered earned interest amounting to Rs41.6 billion in 2QCY24, from Rs36.2 billion in 2QCY23, an increase of nearly 15%. As a result, the bank’s net mark-up increased to Rs23.99 billion in 2QCY24, as compared to Rs22.79 billion in 2QCY23, up by 5%. In 2QCY24, SCBPL’s fee and commission income clocked in at Rs1.54 billion, an increase of over 24% against Rs1.23 billion earned in the same period last year. The bank saw its foreign exchange income increase exponentially to Rs2.74 billion in 2QCY24, as compared to Rs211.76 million in SPLY, reflecting a jump of 1,200%. During the period, the bank saw total income jump to Rs28.6 billion, up by 9%. Standard Chartered’s non-interest expense rose to Rs5.34 billion in 2QCY24, up 21% against Rs4.43 billion in SPLY. During the period, the firm reported a profit before tax of Rs24.55 billion, which increased by nearly 12%. In 2QCY24, SCBPL paid taxes to the tune of Rs14.3 billion as compared to Rs12.4 billion in the preceding year, a gain of 15%. JS Bank: JS Bank Limited (JSBL) posted massive earnings of Rs5.5 billion during the quarter ending June 30, 2024, up over 678% from the profit-after-tax of Rs708.2 million in same period last year. According to a notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday, earnings per share (EPS) clocked in at Rs2.21 in 2QCY24, up from Re0.54 per share in the same period last year. The exponential gain in profit is attributed to a massive increase in interest and non-interest income earned during the period under review. On a consolidated basis, the mark-up/return of JS Bank rose from Rs21.54 billion in 2QCY23 to Rs55.52 billion in 2QCY24, a significant increase of nearly 158%. As a result, the net mark-up clocked in at Rs18 billion in 2QCY24, as compared to Rs5.41 billion in 2QCY23, a significant increase of over 232%. The fee and commission income earned by the bank in 2QCY24, amounted to Rs2.03 billion, an increase of 84% against Rs1.1 billion earned in the same period last year.