Pakistan’s largest oil refining company, Byco Petroleum Pakistan Ltd. (BPPL), on Thursday announced profit after tax of Rs 5.02 billion for the twelve months ended 30 June 2018 (FY18), registering a growth of Rs 2.18 billion or about 130 per cent.
This translated into a profit of Rs. 0.94 per share for FY-2018, up from Rs 0.41 per share in FY-2017, showing an increase of 129 per cent. The company’s operating profit also rose 128 per cent from Rs. 3.61 billion in the prior year to Rs. 8.25 billion for FY-2018. Byco has shown consistent growth in profit after tax for the last four years.
The strong growth in profits came as sales volume climbed by 60 per cent and gross turnover increased by 86 per cent to the highest-ever level of Rs 215 billion. Byco reported 88 per cent increase in net sales to Rs 166.29 billion for FY18 from Rs 88.42 billion in the prior year.
Byco’s excellent growth can be attributed to the successful commissioning of the Company’s second refinery (ORC-II) in August 2017, and the successful startup of Byco’s Catalytic Reformer of ORC-II in February 2018.
Byco’s ORC-II is the largest oil refinery in the country with a design production capacity of 120,000 barrels per day, towards which Byco is gradually ramping up its production. The reformer’s capacity enables Byco to convert up to 24,000 barrels of Heavy Naphtha into Motor Gasoline per day. Byco’s Single Point Mooring (SPM) facility continues to play a crucial role for not only Byco but also in Pakistan’s petroleum industry. Currently, the SPM alone is handling around 26 per cent of Pakistan’s crude oil imports.
Byco’s marketing business is also playing an important role in the company’s operations through the expansion of the retail network and by growing volumes of mainly higher margin products. Byco has 344 retail outlets across the country.
In July 2018, Byco Isomerisation Pakistan (Private) Limited, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of BPPL, successfully commissioned the Isomerisation unit which converts Naphtha into Premium Motor Gasoline. This will drive additional growth in Byco’s refining margins.
In FY18, Byco faced a number of challenges including the declining consumption of furnace oil, volatility in oil prices, and the drop in the value of Pakistani Rupee against the US Dollar. However, Byco still posted strong growth in profits and sales.
