KARACHI:
Attock Petroleum Limited (PSX: APL) reported a 28.6% year-on-year decline in net profit for the nine months ended March 31, 2025, as lower sales and higher operating expenses weighed on the company’s financial performance.
According to a stock filing on Monday, APL posted a net profit of Rs7.7 billion [Earnings Per Share (EPS): Rs61.88], compared to Rs10.78 billion [EPS: Rs86.65] recorded in the same period last year (SPLY).
The company’s net sales dropped by 12.4% to Rs346.74 billion, down from Rs395.68 billion in the corresponding period. Although the cost of products sold fell by 11.8%, the decline was insufficient to prevent a 24.2% decrease in gross profit, which settled at Rs13.41 billion.
Other income showed resilience, rising 25.2% to Rs1.65 billion, helping to partly cushion the blow to operating profitability. However, operating expenses surged by 17.2% to Rs6.38 billion, and finance income slipped 11.4% to Rs5.66 billion during the period. Finance costs, on the other hand, rose sharply by 26.7% to Rs1.48 billion, reflecting higher borrowing costs.
APL’s share of profit from associates improved significantly to Rs411 million, compared to Rs101 million in SPLY. Additionally, a lower tax provision of Rs4.7 billion, down 30.2% year-on-year, provided some support to the bottom line.
Overall, profit before taxation stood at Rs12.4 billion, registering a decline of 29.2% from the previous year.
Following the results announcement, APL’s share price came under pressure at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), closing down by Rs5.40 or 1.7% at Rs318.30, underperforming the broader market which also remained negative.
