Pakistan State Oil Company Limited’s (PSO) profit-after-tax (PAT) plunged nearly 90%, clocking in at Rs9.82 billion for the year ended June 30, 2023.

In the same period last year, the country’s largest oil marketing company (OMC) saw PAT of Rs95.72 billion.

According to a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday, the board of directors met on August 23 to review the company’s financial and operational performance and announced a final cash dividend at the rate of Rs7.5 per share i.e. 75%.

Earnings per share (EPS) were recorded at Rs19.85 in FY2023 as compared to EPS of Rs194.35 in the same period last year (SPLY).

Net sales rose to Rs3.54 trillion compared to Rs2.54 trillion in SPLY, which is an increase of more than 39%.

However, the company’s gross profit declined by over 52%, clocking in at Rs84.4 billion in 2023, compared to Rs178.1 billion in SPLY. The decrease is attributed to an increase in cost of products sold, which jumped 46% from Rs2.36 trillion in 2022 to Rs3.45 trillion in 2023.

On a consolidated basis, the OMC’s ‘other income’ also dropped to Rs16.8 billion in 2023, compared to Rs25.3 billion in SPLY, a decrease of nearly 34%.

On the other hand, cost of finance increased to Rs43.4 billion in the year ended June 30, 2023, as compared to Rs5.96 billion in same period last year, a jump of over 628%. The higher finance cost during the period could be attributed to the rise in interest rate during the period.

However, operating expenses decreased 28% to Rs26.99 billion in 2023, as compared to Rs37.64 billion in SPLY.