Sri Lanka’s state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) spent 648.7 million US dollars on oil imports in the first four months of 2024, down from 828.4 million dollars due to the entry of other market players, according to a Finance Ministry report.
CPC’s turnover fell to 389.1 billion rupees by April 2024, down 16.6 percent from 466.4 billion rupees. The cost of sales decreased by 13.5 percent to 337.4 billion rupees from 390.1 billion rupees.
Crude prices rose to around 89 dollars a barrel by the end of April 2024, up from 77 dollars at the end of 2023.
Despite the decline, CPC maintained profitability, making 13.6 billion rupees through a price formula, although this was down 68.7 percent from 43.4 billion rupees last year.
Trade payables fell to 153 billion rupees from 181.2 billion rupees, and CPC no longer had a loan with the Bank of Ceylon.
Previously, CPC had been directed to take loans from state banks and import oil whenever the central bank printed money to cut policy rates. CPC owed 201 million US dollars to the National Iranian Oil Company, a debt dating back to a currency crisis in 2000 when the practice was initiated by macroeconomists in the government.