THE Pakistan State Oil (PSO), which is the country’s largest oil marketing company (OMC), announced its financial results on Feb 11 for the second quarter which ended on Dec 31, 2021, whereby the company declared a profit of Rs20.2 billion after tax.

This huge post-tax profit means that the earning per share (EPS) is Rs43.02 for the three-month period. But the company did not declare any dividend for the shareholders, which is disappointing.

Earlier, the company made a handsome profit post-tax amounting to Rs12bn for the first quarter which ended on Sept 30, 2021, and reflected EPS amounting to Rs25.54, but the company did not declare any dividend for the shareholders.

The total sum of profit post-tax for the first half of company’s financial year, which ended on Dec 31, 2021, adds up to Rs32.2bn, which means EPS of Rs68.56. I believe that no other company in the history of Pakistan Stock Exchange has made such a high profit without declaring dividend for the shareholders.

The PSO is a public company. Therefore, its board of management should clarify as to why it has not declared dividend for the shareholders despite making such hefty profits.

Ejaz Ahmad Magoon
London, UK

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2022