Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) is the pioneer of the natural gas industry in the country. The company announced its financial results for the half year ended December 31st, 2018. (1HY19).
PPL is a key player in the country’s oil and gas E&P sector. It posted a profit of Rs. 31.03 billion, showing a growth of 41% from Rs. 22.02 billion in the same period last year on the basis of higher revenues and an increase in other income of the company.
The company noted significant expansion in its sales, reaching Rs. 78.81 billion, which were up by 29.26% from Rs. 61 billion. The increase in sales was witnessed due to an increase in oil prices and Rupee depreciation against the US dollar. However, operating expenses and royalties of the company increased by 25.20% to Rs. 31.06 billion which took the gross profit to Rs. 47.74 billion.
Surprisingly, despite the absence of dry wells, exploration expenses of the company grew to Rs. 7.9 billion against Rs. 4.27 billion. Moreover, other income of the company showed a growth of 53.13% to Rs. 6.9 billion as compared with Rs. 4.48 billion which was earned last year.
Earnings per share of the company increased to Rs. 13.69 from Rs. 9.71. However, contrary to expectations, the company has skipped the dividend payout.
According to different brokerage house reports, the company skipped the dividend payment due to rising liquidity issues arising from ballooning circular debt and some said it is likely building cash reserves to bid for wells in the near future.
At the time of filing this report, PPL’s script at the bourse was trading at Rs. 184.01, down by Rs. 1.03 with a turnover of 2.57 million shares on Thursday.
The company is engaged in conducting exploration, prospecting, development, and production of oil and natural gas resources. PPL and its subsidiaries hold a portfolio of 44 exploration blocks. 26 blocks are operated by PPL (including one in Iraq) and 18 are operated by the company’s partners including three offshore blocks in Pakistan and two on-shore blocks in Yemen
