KARACHI, March 5: The Refining sector posted improved earnings for the first half of financial year 2005. That was due to burgeoning international crude oil prices and growing demand for the oil-based products in the country, said a report prepared by Capital One Equities.

Looking at the refineries during 1H-FY05 en bloc, gross sales of the industry stood at Rs81bn ($1.37bn), which registered a 70 per cent increase over 1HFY04 gross revenue of Rs48bn ($807m).

After furnishing all duties, taxes and government levies, net sales of the sector were reported at Rs73bn ($1.2 bn), which were Rs43m ($726m) during the corresponding period last year. As a trickle down effect, net profitability for the refiners also escalated and stayed at Rs3.66 bn ($62m), which during the same period last year, was reported at Rs1.46bn ($25m), registering a high net income for the sector during the half-year period.

For FY05, Humaira Zaheer at Capital One Equities thought that international crude oil prices could average out around $44/barrel to $47/barrel whereas in Pakistan, the demand of petroleum products was likely to remain on the higher side, ensuring an increase in the revenue and income of the refineries en masse.