PRL's loss narrows 44% to Rs1.7b

Decline comes following drastic rise in other income

KARACHI: Pakistan Refinery Limited's (PRL) loss narrowed down 44% to Rs1.7 billion in the half-year ended December 31, 2019 in part due to a substantial rise in other income.

The company had reported a loss of Rs3 billion in the same period of 2018, according to a notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Friday.

Accordingly, the loss per share fell to Rs5.47 during the period under review compared to Rs9.78 in the corresponding period of previous year.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, JS Global analyst Arsalan Ahmed pointed out that the company's plant had been shut down in December 2019, which helped curb the losses significantly.

Stating the reason behind the shutdown, he said the company was unable to sustain its operation owing to a drastic fall in the price of furnace oil.

In addition to that, all refineries of Pakistan were having trouble finding buyers for their furnace oil.

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Other income of the company soared 72% to Rs137.8 million in Jul-Dec 2019 compared to Rs79.8 million in the corresponding period of 2018.

On the other hand, finance cost of PRL rose from Rs607.3 million in 2018 to Rs867.7 million during the period under review, an increase of 42.87%.

Quarterly figures

The company reported a loss of Rs1.9 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2019, which was 28% less than the Rs2.6 billion reported in the same period of 2018.

Loss per share for the quarter fell to Rs6.06 compared to Rs8.42 in the corresponding period of previous year.

During the day, PRL's stock price decreased Rs0.65 to Rs21.65 with trading in 1.2 million shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange. 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2020.

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