PPL earns profit of Rs52.28 billion

KARACHI: The Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) has announced a net profit of Rs52.28 billion, translating into the earnings per share (EPS) of Rs19.21 for the year ended June 30, 2021, which is 5.78 per cent higher than the profit of Rs49.42 billion and the EPS of Rs18.16 in the previous year.

The board of directors have recommended a cash dividend of Rs2/share on ordinary shares and Rs1.50/share on convertible preference shares.

The PPL’s revenues declined 5.46 per cent to Rs149.2 billion in FY21, compared with the revenue of Rs157.9 billion in FY20.

The revenues dropped due to a decline in the gas production by 4 per cent and a fall in Sui wellhead price by 13 per cent.

The exploration costs surged seven times, reaching Rs6.6 billion. “Though, we await clarity regarding this massive increase, one of the reasons we believe could be Dhok Sultan-2, which was temporarily suspended during the fourth quarter of FY21, being recorded as a dry-well along with [the] higher other exploration expenditures,” an analyst at Arif Habib Limited said.

Other income in FY21 declined 37 per cent to Rs4.05 billion attributable to a decline in the income from loans and bank deposits.

Meanwhile, PPL has put up 1mmcfd wellhead separator gas from the well Yasar X-1 in Kotri Block for the third party sales on take and pay basis.

An official said gas could be sold to the third party in case it was not of a pipeline quality or connecting it with the system was unviable due to lower flow.