The State Trading Organization (STO) has reported a decline in its revenue, operating profit, and net profit for the second quarter of 2024.
According to Shimad Ibrahim, the Managing Director of the country’s largest state-owned enterprise (SOE), this decline is primarily owed to the low tourism activity during the quarter, which coincides with the tourism industry’s low season.
STO generated a revenue of MVR 3.47 billion in the second quarter of this year, which is lower than the quarterly earnings of MVR 4.49 billion in the first quarter of 2024 and a moderate decline from MVR 3.78 billion in Q2-2023.
The operating profit for Q2 this year stood at MVR 203 million, whereas the second-quarter operating profit last year stood at MVR 296 million. The operating profit in the first quarter of this year was MVR 308 million, according to STO Financials.
Similarly, the net profit of the company saw a decline from MVR 171 million in Q2-2023 to MVR 148 million in the review quarter. The net profit went down from MVR 195 million in the first quarter of 2024.
Shimad also said that this revenue decline is owed to less earnings from fuel, the corporation’s primary business activity, during the review quarter. He noted that the global oil price reductions resulted in STO revising its fuel prices twice during the second quarter.
STO reports that its quarterly earnings for Q2-2024 saw a 16% decline, while the total net profit in year-to-date terms is now at MVR 515 million.