State-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation's net profit dropped 14.21 per cent in the last fiscal year because of a decline in fuel sales amid the pandemic-induced demand collapse.

The corporation made a net profit of Tk 4,090.8 crore in the FY20, down from Tk 4,768.42 crore a year ago, according to the Bangladesh Economic Review 2020, which was published last week. 

BPC officials blamed the 20 per cent fall in sales on the emergence of the coronavirus epidemic.

BPC is not alone.

Twenty state-owned enterprises, out of a total of 52 covered in the review, saw a decrease in net profit in the last fiscal year. Four turned unprofitable.

The SoEs made a total profit of Tk 7,519.31 crore, which was Tk 10,677.23 crore in the FY19, down 29.57 per cent year-on-year. This is the lowest profit since the FY16.

Thirteen SoEs, including those in the power sector, made positive growth in their profit on the back of an increase in the price of electricity and related services.

According to BPC sources, the import and sales of petroleum products dropped in the FY20 compared to a year ago.

BPC imported 51.92 lakh tonnes of petroleum products worth Tk 22,275 crore in the last fiscal year, down from 59.84 lakh tonnes worth Tk 30,739 crore in the FY19, a 13.33 per cent fall.

Due to the decline in local demand, sales volume dipped 15.38 per cent. BPC had sold 65.49 lakh tonnes of oil in the FY19. It declined to 55.03 lakh tonnes in the last fiscal year.

Moni Lal Das, general manager for finance of the BPC, said: "The demand for petroleum products had dropped by more than half due to the nationwide lockdown from the end of March. As a result, BPC's sales declined during this time, which had a negative impact on our profits."

Profit for the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission also fell as it took home Tk 2,257.67 crore in the last fiscal year, down from Tk 2,757.61 crore in the FY19.

This is because there had not been much earnings from the sales of the spectrum to mobile phone operators. 

Revenue sharing is a fixed source of income for the commission, and the income from the segment has almost been stagnant.

As people are increasingly using communication applications to make voice calls, the government's earnings from revenue sharing by mobile phone operators would not go up much.

The profit for the Chattogram Port Authority declined 20 per cent to Tk 729.23 crore as the pandemic hampered the export and import activities.

Bangladesh Power Development Board took home Tk 101 crore, aided by an increase in retail tariff in February this year. 

Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board made a profit of Tk 868.15 crore.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh raked in Tk 538.56 crore and the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority Tk 459.73 crore.

The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh incurred a loss of Tk 556.66 crore. It had made a profit of Tk 7.71 crore in the FY19.

The losses stemmed from the sales of items such as rice at subsidised rates throughout the year to keep the market stable, TCB officials said.

The agency also had to sell onions at subsidised rate after the price of the kitchen staple skyrocketed amid Indian ban on exports and inadequate local supplies. 

Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation topped the list of the loss-making SoEs. It incurred a loss of around Tk 1,061.67 crore in the last fiscal year.

Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation and Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation lost Tk 741 crore and Tk 726 crore respectively.