Mari Petroleum’s profit jumps 25%
A REUTERS FILE IMAGE
Mari Petroleum Company Limited’s profit surged 25% to Rs30.31 billion in the year ended June 30, 2020 due to notable depreciation of rupee against the US dollar, higher sales and surge in finance income.
The oil and gas exploration firm had booked a profit of Rs24.32 billion in the preceding year ended June 30, 2019, the company said in a notification sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday.
Accordingly, earnings per share increased to Rs227.23 in the year under review compared to Rs182.36 in the previous year. The board of directors of the company recommended a final cash dividend of Rs2 per share.
This comes in addition to Rs4.1 per share already paid to shareholders during the year.
The new entitlement will be paid to the shareholders whose names will appear in the register of members at the close of business on September 21, 2020.
“During FY20, earnings of the company increased…due to 17% depreciation of the rupee, which resulted in higher wellhead prices,” Topline Securities said in a post-result commentary.
The depreciation helped the company generate higher sales revenue despite “the overall oil and gas production of the company declined by 8% and 2%, respectively, in the year compared to the previous year,” the brokerage house said.
Net sales revenue increased 21% to Rs72.01 billion in the year compared to Rs59.45 billion in the prior year, the company reported in its profit and loss accounts. Finance income surged 187% to Rs4.97 billion compared to Rs1.73 billion. On the flip side, the exploration and prospecting expenditure cost rose 138% to Rs10.25 billion compared to Rs4.31 billion.
The operating expenses surged 14% to Rs13.3 billion in the year ended June 30, 2020 compared to Rs11.71 billion in the prior year ended June 30, 2019.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 21st, 2020.
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