OGDCL Posts 53% First-Quarter Profit Growth, Announces Record Dividend
Key Facts
Basic and diluted earnings per share rose to 13.60 rupees, compared with 8.91 rupees a year earlier. The company announced an interim dividend of 5 rupees per share, its highest first-quarter payout on record, according to its disclosure. The dividend, alongside growth in profit and revenue, was one of the standout features of the quarterly results.
The company attributed the improvement in sales mainly to positive price and volume effects, according to its results statement. But the Pakistani rupee's appreciation against the dollar and forced production shutdowns at SNGPL and UPL limited the gains. OGDCL estimated that forced production restrictions had a negative impact of 9.711 billion rupees on sales during the quarter. Dawn said higher production volumes and realized prices supported profit growth, while the restrictions and a stable rupee tempered those effects.
The average realized price for crude oil rose to $74.90 per barrel from $57.61 a year earlier. The average realized gas price also increased to 796.08 rupees per thousand cubic feet, from 718.38 rupees, while the price of liquefied petroleum gas rose to 173,350 rupees per ton from 147,302 rupees. Average daily saleable crude oil production climbed to 35,494 barrels from 31,315 barrels in the comparable period. Gas production increased to 732 million cubic feet per day from 641 million, while liquefied petroleum gas production reached 696 tons per day, compared with 630 tons. Dawn said higher production and international prices were among the factors supporting the increase in profit.
Profit margins also improved, with the gross profit margin rising to 63% from 59% and the net profit margin increasing to 44% from 40%, the company said. OGDCL said higher operating costs and spending on exploration and prospecting weighed on profitability. In contrast, higher other financial income, driven mainly by interest returns on investments and bank deposits, supported performance. Net cash generated from operating activities was 34.394 billion rupees, compared with 3.712 billion rupees in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Collections against bills reached 100% during the quarter, according to Dawn.
Dawn said the company contributed 82 billion rupees to Pakistan's national exchequer through taxes, dividends, royalties and fees during the quarter. The newspaper estimated that domestic oil and gas production saved the country 1.32 billion dollars in foreign exchange through import substitution. On projects, OGDCL reported that construction and mechanical work on the Uch gas compression project had been completed. The company set October 2026 as the expected completion date for packages A and B, and December 2026 for package C. These dates set the company's next execution schedule following results for the quarter ended in September.