Lanka IOC net up on lower oil bill in Dec
ECONOMYNEXT- Lanka IOC Plc, the Sri Lankan unit of an Indian state-owned petroleum firm, said its net profits for the December quarter grew to 489.75 million rupees from a 986.88 million rupee loss a year earlier on a falling oil bill.
The firm’s interim financials showed 92 cents in earnings per share. LIOC closed trading on Friday at 18.20 rupees a share. For the nine months ending December, the firm posted 1.44 rupees in earnings per share on 767.99 million rupees in profits, up from a 533.71 million rupee loss.
In the December quarter, LIOC’s revenue fell 14.35 percent to 19.81 billion rupees from a year earlier while cost of sales fell at a faster 19.86 percent to 18.48 billion rupees.
Oil prices were lower during the quarter, contributing to LIOC’s lower input costs.
However, the competing Sri Lankan state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has been selling fuel at lower prices, becoming more attractive for consumer. However, the government is now intending for the loss-making CPC to