Mari Petroleum Records Highest Ever Profit, Announces 800% Bonus Shares

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Staff Report: Mari Petroleum (MARI) announced its FY24 results on Thursday, where the company recorded its highest-ever earnings of Rs77bn (EPS of Rs579.36), up 38%. In 4QFY24, MARI reported a profit of Rs26bn (EPS of Rs192.34), up 62%, exceeding industry expectations due to a reversal in exploration costs and lower tax expenses.

Alongside the results, the company declared a final cash dividend of Rs134/share in 4QFY24, bringing the full-year FY24 dividend to Rs232/share. This translates to a payout ratio of 40% in FY24, compared to 35% in FY23. MARI also announced a bonus of 800% (eight shares for every one share held).Mari Petroleum Drills First-Ever Horizontal Well in Mari Gas Field

Net sales declined by 15% YoY and 17% QoQ to Rs40bn in 4QFY24 due to a fall in gas production during the quarter, partly caused by the closure of a fertilizer plant for around 55 days. However, net sales increased by 25% YoY in FY24, with hydrocarbon sales volume reaching 39.01 MMBOE, up 7% YoY.

Royalty expenses were 11.4% of sales in 4QFY24 and 12.2% for the full year FY24, in line with historical averages.

In 4QFY24, the company recorded a reversal of Rs5.9bn in exploration costs, compared to an expense of Rs6.5bn in 4QFY23. On a full-year basis, the company recorded exploration costs of Rs12.9bn, down 19% YoY. The company’s effective tax rate was 20% in 4QFY24, compared to 37% in 4QFY23. For the full year FY24, the effective tax rate was 30%, down from 35% in FY23.

Other material information from the results includes:

A five-year extension of the Mari D&P lease, approved by the Government, extending the company’s rights on the lease until Nov-2029 with an additional payment of 15% wellhead value.
MARI’s subsidiary, Mari Mining Co. (Pvt) Ltd, has been awarded two mineral exploration licenses in the Chaghi district of Balochistan.
The Board of Directors of MARI has approved the formation of a subsidiary focused on Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence.