KARACHI: Pursuant to the notification from the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources (MPNR), Sheikh Imranul Haquehas taken over the charge as the Managing Director & CEO of the Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSOCL) on Tuesday. The newly appointed managing director & CEO of PSO reviewed and approved the performance of the company for the financial year 2014-15 (FY15) that ended on June 30, by exercising the powers and functions of the board under Section 6(4) of the Marketing of Petroleum Products (Federal Control) Act, 1974 that were conferred upon the managing director via an earlier notification issued by the MNPR. In the financial year under review, PSO continued to dominate the market with its share in the black oil and white oil segments standing at 66.6% and 49.8% respectively, thereby contributing to an overall market share of 56.8%. The company’s sale volume of motor gasoline grew by 18.5% in FY15 as compared to the same period last year due to upsurge in demand of Mogas and shortage of CNG. Additionally, high-speed diesel (HSD) sales also witnessed an increase of 0.9% despite stiff competition faced in the industry. During the year, the company’s profitability has been adversely affected by the sharp decline of 46% in the OPEC basket price of crude oil, $109 per barrel in July 2014 to $59 per barrel in June 2015. This significant decline in crude oil prices together with drop in black oil volumes by 12% resulted in a 21% reduction in the sales turnover to Rs 1,114 billion as compared to Rs 1,410 billion in FY14. Similarly, the after tax profitability has also declined to Rs 6.9 billion as compared to Rs 21.8 billion in FY14 due to inventory losses on account of sharp fall in crude prices, increase in finance cost due to prevailing circular debt crisis and less receipt of interest from the power sector. A final cash dividend of Rs 4 per share (equivalent to 40%) was declared in addition to the earlier interim cash dividends of Rs 6 per share (equivalent to 60%). The total cash dividend for the year stands at Rs 10 per share. The managing director expressed gratitude to PSO’s shareholders, customers and stakeholders for their continual trust and confidence in the company and its management.