Pakistan State Oil (PSO), the country’s largest fuel retailer, reported a 172 percent rise in profit after tax to Rs25.56 billion for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, up from Rs9.39 billion in the same quarter last year. Earnings per share — the profit divided by the number of shares — rose to Rs54.44 from Rs20. At group level, including its subsidiary Pakistan Refinery Limited, consolidated profit after tax was Rs29.42 billion, with earnings per share of Rs62.66.
PSO sells petrol, diesel, jet fuel and lubricants through the largest fuel station network in Pakistan. Its results therefore say something about both the company and about how much fuel the country is actually using.
Sales grew more than twice as fast as the market
The company’s petroleum sales rose 17.8 percent from a year earlier, more than twice the industry’s 7.1 percent growth. That lifted PSO’s market share by 4.2 percentage points to 45.9 percent, meaning nearly 46 out of every 100 litres of fuel sold through the formal market now pass through PSO. Motor gasoline, the petrol used in cars and motorcycles, rose 23.2 percent to 968,000 metric tonnes, while high-speed diesel sales grew 12.8 percent to 759,000 metric tonnes even as national diesel demand shrank. Aviation fuel sales rose 15.5 percent, with PSO supplying 99.6 percent of the jet fuel market, and lubricant sales grew 17.4 percent to 9,970 metric tonnes.
Chief Executive Jawwad Ahmed Cheema said the company grew at more than twice the pace of the market while keeping fuel available across Pakistan “through one of the most disrupted periods for regional supply in recent years”. During the quarter PSO imported 16 cargoes of petroleum products totalling 756,000 metric tonnes and lifted 1.019 million metric tonnes of petrol and diesel from local refineries, broadening its sourcing to protect supplies.
Inventory gains helped, but costs also rose
Part of the profit jump came from inventory gains, estimated by analysts at about Rs35 billion. An inventory gain happens when fuel bought earlier at a lower price rises in value before it is sold, because market prices have gone up in the meantime. It is a real accounting gain, but it depends on rising prices and does not repeat automatically if prices fall. Sales overall rose about 15 percent to Rs846.1 billion, helped by both higher volumes and higher fuel prices.
Costs also rose. Finance costs — largely the interest on borrowing — increased about 6 percent to Rs6.3 billion, reflecting higher interest rates and more short-term borrowing. Analysts also note that receivables, the money owed to the company, stood at Rs416 billion at the end of September, a reminder that selling fuel does not always mean being paid promptly, particularly where government and institutional buyers are involved.
What this means
For ordinary motorists, a record profit at the state fuel retailer does not mean cheaper petrol at the pump: pump prices are set under the government’s pricing mechanism, not by PSO’s quarterly profit, and fuel prices in fact rose from 29 October. What the results do show is that fuel demand, especially for petrol, is holding up, and that supply stayed available despite regional shipping disruptions — both of which matter more to daily life than any single profit figure. For readers who follow the stock market, the key caution is that a large part of this quarter’s jump came from inventory gains tied to rising prices. If prices fall, that support reverses, so one strong quarter should not be read as a permanent new level of profit.
Sources: Business Recorder, Treasure (sector earnings analysis). Written in our own words for information only — not investment advice.