Attock Refinery’s earnings plunge 92.4%

Reports profit of Rs154 million in three-month period

KARACHI: Attock Refinery Limited’s (ARL) consolidated profit shrank 92.4% to amount to Rs154.13 million in the quarter ended on December 31, 2017, thanks to non-refinery income that saved it from slipping into losses, according to the profit and loss accounts the company sent to the stock exchange.

“Bottom-line was supported by non-refinery income (share in profit of associated companies) of Rs747 million up 36% on a year-on-year basis,” Topline Securities said in a post financial reporting comment.

In the same quarter last year, the refinery reported its profit at Rs2.03 billion, according to its profit and loss accounts.

Earnings per share dropped to Rs1.81 in the quarter under review from Rs23.83 in the same quarter last year.

ARL’s share price increased 0.85%, or Rs2.02, to close at Rs239.27 with 1.74 million shares changing hands on Tuesday.

The company’s net sales increased 14%, at Rs28.03 billion, from Rs24.67 billion. However, the exorbitant cost of sales (Rs28.47 billion), which came higher than the net sales this quarter, gave a serious setback to the firm.

Besides, financial cost surged almost three folds to Rs753 million from Rs281 million. On the flip slide, other income rose by 69% to Rs494 million from Rs292 million.

Cumulatively, the profit for the first half (July-December 2018) of the current fiscal year halved to Rs1.37 billion (earning per share of Rs16.14) from Rs2.72 billion (earning per share of Rs32) in the same half last year.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2018.

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