Byco Petroleum posts loss of Rs3 billion

Spike in cost of sales, rupee depreciation drive losses

KARACHI: Byco Petroleum reported a net loss of Rs3 billion in the quarter ended March 30 compared to a net profit of Rs478.47 million in the same quarter last year, according to a notice sent by the company to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Monday.

The financial accounts turned into losses due to a spike in the cost of sales, maintenance of expensive stocks, rupee depreciation and sluggish demand for petroleum products under the lockdown imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic, the company said.

The company booked losses despite its net sales surged over 10% to Rs49.80 billion in the quarter compared to Rs45.12 billion in the same quarter of the last year.

The loss per share came at Rs0.56 in the quarter under review compared to earnings per share at Rs0.09 in the corresponding quarter of the last year.

Nine-month results

Cumulatively in the nine-months ended March 30, the company booked losses worth Rs3.02 billion (loss per share of Rs0.57) compared to a profit of Rs261.71 million (earnings per share of Rs0.05) in the same period of last year “due to the negative impact of the exchange rate and an increase in inventory losses.

The rise in KIBOR (Karachi interbank offered rate) rates pushed finance costs higher,” Byco said in a statement.

Crude oil consumption dropped by 22% in Pakistan. The high sulphur furnace oil demand has remained low for the last three years due to the decrease in consumption from the power producers. Furnace oil price fell $30 per barrel below crude oil in the international markets following the implementation of the IMO 2020 regulation.

Some recovery was witnessed in the current quarter but it got disturbed due to the global oil market turmoil, it said.

Furthermore, the global oil industry is currently going through one of the most challenging periods ever.

Brent oil price fell from $67 per barrel in early-January to $23 by late-March as the spread of Covid-19 and the ensuing travel restrictions and strict lockdowns enacted by various governments around the world weakened demand for crude oil as well as oil products, it said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2020.

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