Pakistan State Oil Company Limited’s (PSO) profit-after-tax (PAT) witnessed an exponential increase of nearly 1074%, clocking in at Rs25.19 billion for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023-24.

In the same period last year, the country’s largest oil marketing company (OMC) saw PAT of only Rs2.15 billion.

According to a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday, the board of directors met on August 23 to review PSO’s financial and operational performance during the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

Earnings per share (EPS) were recorded at Rs51.1 in 1QFY24 as compared to EPS of Rs3.72 in the same period last year (SPLY).

“Earnings were higher than industry expectations due to lower than expected financing costs,” said Topline Securities in a note.

The OMCs net sales rose to Rs965.2 billion in 1QFY24, compared to Rs900.67 billion in SPLY – an increase of more than 7%.

The company’s gross profit increased by over 714%, clocking in at Rs66.2 billion in 1QFY24, compared to Rs8.13 billion in SPLY. The jump is attributed to a nominal increase in cost of products sold, which inched up only 1% from Rs892.53 billion in 1QFY23 to Rs898.97 billion in 1QFY24.

PSO’s gross margin improved to 6.9% in 1QFY24, as compared to 0.9% registered in SPLY.

However, on a consolidated basis, the OMC’s ‘other income’ dropped to Rs3.96 billion in 1QFY24, compared to Rs7.16 billion in SPLY, a decrease of nearly 45%.

On the other hand, cost of financing increased to Rs11.04 billion in 1QFY24, as compared to Rs5.43 billion in same period last year – a jump of over 103%. The higher financing cost during the period could be attributed to a rise in interest rates during that period.

Meanwhile, operating expenses increased 113% to Rs10.48 billion in 1QFY24, as compared to Rs4.92 billion in SPLY.