Karachi, September 03, 2021 (PPI-OT): POL sales rise 25% YoY during 8MCY21

A total of 1.96mn tons of POL products were sold during Aug-2021, reflecting a 26% increase over the same month last year. This takes the cumulative sales for 8MCY21 to 13.6mn – 25% higher than the same period last year.

However, we highlight here that 1HCY20 was a particularly weak period in terms of POL sales where a substantial demand attrition during the initial few months (contracting to a record low in March) was followed by a severe oil shortage in June.

Total sales remained close to similar levels of preceding month. On a product wise basis, sales of Motor Spirit (MS), after touching a record high of 0.81mn tons in Jul-2021, fell by nearly 9% in Aug-2021 to 0.74mn tons. Similarly, sales of HSD also declined by 7% MoM for the second consecutive month to 0.67mn tons in August. The decline in both products was offset by 38% MoM higher FO sales.

From a company specific lens, Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has out-paced the industry with double digit growth in major retail fuels (MS and HSD) and a massive 187% YoY increase in sales of Furnace Oil during 8MCY21. Shell Pakistan Limited (SHEL) too posted a substantial 32% increase in overall sales, beating the industry growth by as much as 7 percentage points. However, Hascol Petroleum Limited (HASCOL) has been on a rough patch as it saw POL sales drop by a massive 47% YoY during 8MCY21.