Meghna Petroleum’s Q2 profit falls amid declining furnace oil demand

Meghna Petroleum Limited (MPL) posted a 5.25 per cent year-on-year decline in profit to Tk 1.55 billion in the second quarter of FY26, largely due to lower furnace oil sales.

Earnings per share dropped to Tk 14.30 during the October–December quarter, compared to Tk 15.09 in the same period a year earlier.

“Sales of furnace oil to the Bangladesh Power Development Board fell sharply during the quarter,” Managing Director Md Shahirul Hassan told The FE over the phone.

MPL markets a wide range of petroleum products, including high-octane blending components (HOBC), motor spirit (MS), superior kerosene oil (SKO), high-speed diesel (HSD), jet base oil (JBO), furnace oil (FO), lubricants and bitumen. The company is also the authorised distributor of BP Lubricants and Visco 3000 in Bangladesh.

Demand for furnace oil has been easing as fuel-based power plants are gradually being phased out. In addition, electricity demand typically declines during the cooler October–December period, further reducing the need for furnace oil.

Lower interest income from deposits with troubled Islamic banks undergoing mergers may also have contributed to the profit decline. According to its FY25 financial statements, MPL held fixed deposits worth Tk 5.48 billion with First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, Padma Bank and Union Bank. The detailed financial statement for the quarter is yet to be released.

Despite the quarterly setback, MPL performed well in the first half of FY26, with earnings per share rising 2.8 per cent year-on-year to Tk 28.59 for the July–December period.

Following the earnings announcement, the company’s share price rose 0.96 per cent to Tk 199.50 on Wednesday on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

Meghna Petroleum, a subsidiary of the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, is among the few listed companies to have paid cash dividends exceeding 150 per cent for five consecutive years and has maintained steady growth over the past six to seven years.