KARACHI, Oct 28: Pakistan State Oil (PSO) on Monday posted after tax profit of Rs1.04 billion for the first quarter of the current fiscal year ended September 30, 2002, an increase of 176 per cent over the same period last year.

The Board of Management with its chairman M. Salim in the chair, met here to review the performance and accounts of the company for the period.

It observed that the company continued to further improve on its preceding year’s performance and achieved newer landmarks.

Profit before tax rose to Rs1.4 billion, registering an impressive growth of around 143 per cent. PSO sold 2.6 million tons of POL products translating into sales revenues of over Rs48 billion, up by 12 per cent over the same period last year.

This remarkable and impressive performance demonstrated by the company was mainly due to increased operating efficiency, more concentration on higher margin products, further expansion of new produce line and services and enhanced margins, a PSO statement said.

During July-Sept 2002, the domestic POL industry displayed a modest growth of 1 per cent, which was essentially the same growth witnessed during the second half of FY-02.—APP