Puma Energy Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited

CREDIT RATING REPORT | Aug-25

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Rating History
Dissemination Date Long-Term Rating Short-Term Rating Outlook Action Rating Watch
28-Aug-25 A- A2 Stable Maintain -
28-Aug-24 A- A2 Stable Maintain -
28-Aug-23 A- A2 Stable Maintain -
26-Aug-22 A- A2 Stable Initial -
About the Entity

Puma Energy Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited, incorporated in 2001 and registered as an Oil Marketing Company (OMC), is primarily engaged in the procurement, storage, and distribution of petroleum products.
Mr. Amir Waliuddin Chishti holds ~99.99% shares and chairs the BoD. Mr. Fayaz Ahmad Khan, the CEO, has headed the Company since Sep-22. He is aided by a team of experienced professionals.

Rating Rationale

Pakistan relies significantly on imports to meet its energy demand. During FY25, the country consumed ~16.3mln MT of petroleum products (FY24: ~15.3mln MT), an uptick of ~7% YoY, primarily due to an increase in automobile sales. MS remained the volume leader with sales of ~7.6mln MT (FY24: ~7.14mln MT), followed by HSD (FY25: ~6.89mln MT, FY24: ~6.26mln MT). However, FO witnessed a sharp decline of ~23% (FY25: ~0.81mln MT, FY24: ~1.04mln MT). Going forward, consumption of petroleum products is expected to follow the same trajectory.
The assigned ratings of Puma Energy Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited reflects an established retail network and its adequate presence on the operational front. Currently, the Company operates a retail network of ~561 outlets nationwide, GB, and Azad Kashmir, with concentration in Punjab (~381) and Sindh (~98). Capacity utilization remains constrained amid an increasingly competitive landscape. Brand visibility is being strengthened through rebranding initiatives, with ~48 outlets rebranded under the Puma Energy name, alongside a Trademark License Agreement (TMLA) with Puma Energy International S.A. The Company intends to establish more Puma-branded outlets going forward, to further enhance its visibility. The sponsors’ extensive experience in the OMC sector and their demonstrated commitment to extend financial support, as required, underpin the ratings. Puma operates as a mid-sized player with a market share of ~1.26%. Revenue is primarily derived from PMG (~50%) and HSD (~47.5%), while HSFO (~1.9%), Lubricants (~0.5%), and Avgas (~0.1%) contribute the remainder. The topline declined by ~5.1% during CY24 on account of lower volumetric sales. Gross margins weakened; however, net margins posted a marginal improvement owing to reduced finance costs. The financial risk profile remains adequate, supported by a moderate working capital cycle and coverage indicators, though the borrowing cushion is limited. The conversion of the director’s debt into equity strengthened capitalization and improved leverage.

Key Rating Drivers

The rating captures the Company’s ability to sustain business operations through planned rebranding of retail sites, along with improving margins. Sustaining key financial metrics, working capital ratios, and coverages are crucial for ratings.

REPORT CONTENTS
  1. Rating Analysis
  2. Financial Summary
  3. Rating Scale
  4. Regulatory Disclosure

Puma Energy Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited

rating analysis

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Profile
Legal Structure

Puma Energy Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited (‘Puma’ or ‘the Company’) is a private limited company.


Background

The Company was incorporated in 2001 and registered as an Oil Marketing Company (OMC) known as Admore Gas (Private) Ltd. On 23-Nov-17, the Company changed its name to Puma Energy Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd. Puma was ~51% directly owned by Puma Energy South Asia Holdings B.V. ('Puma Energy'). In 2021, Puma Energy transferred the entire stake to Mr. Amir Waliuddin Chishti. At present, the Company operates 561 retail pumps across the country.


Operations

The Company is engaged in the business of marketing petroleum products and lubricating oils (HSD, PMG, Lubricants & Furnace Oil). Puma has a total storage capacity of ~11,020 MT with a storage depot at Daulatpur, Sindh, and a Terminal at Machike, Punjab. In addition to that, Puma also has long-term hospitality storage agreements at Kemari, Port Qasim, Shikarpur, Mehmood Kot, Gatti, Sihala, and Tarujabba.


Ownership
Ownership Structure

The Company is majorly owned by Mr. Amir Waliuddin Chishti (~99.99%). Mr. Javed Yousuf Ahmedjee, Mr. Kamal Haider Jaffery, and Mr. Muhammad Afzal own the remaining shareholding.


Stability

Stability in the Company’s leadership provides comfort to the overall ownership structure.


Business Acumen

Mr. Amir Waliuddin Chishti, the sponsor, has a diversified portfolio with expertise in the energy, healthcare, education, and financial sectors. He holds strategic stakes in Shajar Capital Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd., Invest One Markets (Pvt.) Ltd., Shajar Properties (Pvt.) Ltd., Darul Shifa International, Liaquat Ali Khan Memorial College of Dentistry & Health Sciences, and Liaquat College of Medicine & Dentistry (Pvt.) Ltd.


Financial Strength

The financial strength of the sponsors is considered strong to support the Company, as and when needed.


Governance
Board Structure

The Company has a five-member Board (BoD), comprising four Non-Executive Directors plus the CEO as a deemed director. Enhancing the governance framework would remain beneficial.


Members’ Profile

Mr. Amir Waliuddin Chishti chairs the Board with an overall experience of over 27 years with ventures in health, education, finance, and energy. He has been associated with the Company for ~13 years. Mr. Javed Yousuf Ahmedjee, a Non-Executive Director, has recently resigned on 30-Apr-25 from directorship to take up a new assignment outside the group. Mr. Kamal Haider is a highly seasoned banking professional with over 26 years of experience. He has held significant roles in Pakistani Banking sector as well as internationally within Middle Eastern banks. He has been associated with the Company since 2022. Mr. Afzal Yousuf is a seasoned finance professional with diverse experience across healthcare and education. He has been associated with the Company for ~13 years. All of the BoD members are seasoned professionals having substantial industry-related experience.


Board Effectiveness

Formal policies and procedures are devised by the CEO and approved by the Chairman. The Board is assisted by the Audit and Risk committees. The Board meetings are held on a quarterly basis, with 100% attendance, maintaining minutes of the meeting for every board meeting.


Financial Transparency

The External Auditor of the Company, M/s BDO Ebrahim & Company, is QCR rated and is in category 'A' of SBP panel. The firm has expressed an unqualified opinion on the financial statements for the year ended Dec-24.


Management
Organizational Structure

A horizontal organizational structure exists with operations segregating into: Retail Sales, Commercial Sales, Lubricants,  Legal counsel, Operations & Logistics, HR & Admin, Finance, and Business Support. Each department is headed by its respective Heads, who report to the CEO. The CEO reports to the BoD. The entire operational set-up of the Company falls under the purview of the CEO, making him the man at the last mile.


Management Team

Mr. Fayaz Ahmad Khan holds the position of CEO. He has been associated with the Company since Sep-22 with an overall experience of more than ~27 years. He has been associated with Pakistan’s petroleum industry, starting his career with Shell Pakistan Ltd and Total Parco. Before joining Puma Energy, he was attached with Byco Petroleum. Mr. Ramiz Ali, CFO, joined the Company in Sep-24 replacing Mr. Amir Waheed. He brings in an overall experience of over ~14 years in accounting and finance. He is assisted by a good team of professionals.


Effectiveness

There are 3 management committees: i) Supply chain, ii) Retail Business Review, and iii) AHR. The Supply Chain Committee and Retail Business Review meet on weekly basis every Monday, and AHR Committees meet on a monthly basis. The minutes of the meetings are documented.


MIS

Puma has implemented and is using all key modules and the latest version of SAP S4/ HANA for Finance and Controlling, Materials management, and Sales & Distribution modules. Puma has also implemented an AHR cloud-based enterprise system, “Decibel”.


Control Environment

The Company has adequate in-house control mechanisms, with adequate MIS is maintained to keep track of all operations.


Business Risk
Industry Dynamics

Pakistan relies significantly on imports to meet its energy demand. During FY25, the country consumed ~16.3mln MT of petroleum products (FY24: ~15.3mln MT), an uptick of ~7% YoY. This uptick was primarily due to three reasons: higher demand following a reduction in HSD and MS prices, curtailment of smuggled oil products, and an increase in automobile sales. MS remained the volume leader with sales of ~7.6mln MT (FY24: ~7.14mln MT), an uptick of ~6%, followed by HSD (FY25: ~6.89mln MT, FY24: ~6.26mln MT), an uptick of ~10%. However, FO witnessed a sharp decline of ~23% (FY25: ~0.81mln MT, FY24: ~1.04mln MT). Currently, there are ~43 registered OMCs. There are five (5) listed OMCs operating in the country, namely (i) Pakistan State Oil (PSO), (ii) Shell Pakistan (SHELL), (iii) Hascol Petroleum (HASCOL), (iv) Hi-Tech Lubricants (HTL), and (v) Attock Petroleum (APL). Going forward, consumption of petroleum products is expected to follow the same trajectory.


Relative Position

Puma has ~1.26% market share during FY25 in terms of sales of MS/HSD/HOBC.


Revenues

The Company generates revenue through sales of PMG (~50%), followed by HSD (~47.5%), HSFO (~1.9%), while the remaining is contributed by Lubricants (~0.5%) and Avgas (~0.1%). During CY24, the Company witnessed a decline in revenue recorded at ~PKR 59,760mln (CY23: ~PKR 62,959mln), a decline of ~5.2%, due to a volumetric decrease of ~5.1% recorded at ~184,060 MT during CY24 (CY23: ~193,979 MT), indicating reduced demand for the Company's product. During 6MCY25, the revenue of the Company was recorded at ~PKR 28,067mln (6MCY24: ~PKR 32,409mln), a decline of ~13.4% with volumetric sales reported at ~89,258 MT (6MCY24: ~91,034 MT), a decline of ~2%, indicating the impact of competition on the Company's performance. Revenues are expected to follow the same trajectory,  going forward.


Margins

During CY24, gross margin decreased to ~2.8% (CY23: ~3.9%) due to a surge in PoL costs. The operating margin also deteriorated to ~0.5% (CY23: ~1.9%) due to a surge in operating expenses by ~6.4%. On a net level, the margin improved to ~0.2% (CY23: ~0.02%) primarily due to a decrease in finance costs by ~53.5%. During 6MCY25, the Company reported gross margins of ~4.4% (6MCY24: ~2.9%) due to a decrease in petroleum prices. The impact of increased gross margin trickled down to operating margin, which was reported at ~1.6% (6MCY24: ~0.8%). The net margin also improved to ~0.8% (6MCY24: ~0.1%) due to a decrease in finance costs. Margins are expected to remain squeezed going forward.


Sustainability

The Company is eyeing branding its existing retail network by engaging dealers, which has progressed well. Moreover, consistency of a streamlined business strategy remains imperative to ratings.


Financial Risk
Working capital

The Company's net working capital cycle increased and stood at ~5 days in CY24 (CY23: ~3 days) due to an increase in inventory days (CY24: ~30 days, CY23: ~21 days). Trade receivable days improved slightly to ~3 days (CY23: ~4 days) as the Company provides limited credit to retail outlets, whereas trade payable days increased significantly to ~28 days (CY23: ~22 days), allowing the Company to manage the working capital cycle effectively. As of 6MCY25, the Company reported net working capital days of ~5 days (6MCY24: ~(3) days) attributed to inventory days of ~31 days (6MCY24: ~23 days), trade receivable days of ~2 days (6MCY24: ~3 days) and trade payable days of ~28 days (6MCY24: ~29 days). The borrowing cushion remains stretched.


Coverages

As of CY24, the Company's EBITDA declined to ~PKR 887mln (CY23:~PKR 1,302mln) due to a decrease in non-cash items. The finance cost decreased significantly to ~PKR 72mln (CY23: ~PKR 155mln) due to a decrease in policy rate. This improved the EBITDA/Finance cost cover to ~12.3x (CY23:~8.8x). As of 6MCY25, the Company's EBITDA was reported at ~PKR 549mln (6MCY24: ~PKR 1,731mln) due to a decrease in non-cash items. The finance cost was reported at ~PKR 41mln (6MCY24: ~PKR 137mln), leading to a cover of ~13.3x (6MCY24: ~12.6x). Coverages are expected to remain stable going forward.


Capitalization

As of CY24, the total borrowings of the Company were reported at ~PKR 1,941mln (CY23: ~PKR 2,358mln), a decline of ~17.7% due to payment of short-term borrowings during the year, hence leading to an improvement in leverage ratio (CY24: ~70%, CY23: ~77.5%). However, the Company's equity base remained limited, reported at ~PKR 841mln (CY23: ~PKR 700mln). The Company holds PKR ~1,530mln (CY23: PKR ~1,530mln) as a subordinated loan. As of 6MCY25, the leverage ratio of the Company improved significantly to ~10.5% (6MCY24: ~75.4%) due to conversion of subordinated debt into equity, which stood at ~PKR 2,603mln (6MCY24: ~PKR 718mln). Leverage is expected to remain moderate going forward. 
 
 

Aug-25

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Puma Energy Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited

financial summary

(PKR mln)

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Jun-25
6M		 Dec-24
12M		 Dec-23
12M		 Dec-22
12M
A. BALANCE SHEET
1. Non-Current Assets 2,174 2,132 2,292 2,474
2. Investments 455 427 25 0
3. Related Party Exposure 0 0 0 0
4. Current Assets 8,266 9,509 7,583 5,781
a. Inventories 3,709 5,772 4,132 3,046
b. Trade Receivables 320 352 686 708
5. Total Assets 10,894 12,069 9,900 8,255
6. Current Liabilities 7,610 8,943 6,501 4,407
a. Trade Payables 3,939 4,585 4,613 2,852
7. Borrowings 304 410 882 1,374
8. Related Party Exposure 180 1,683 1,627 1,564
9. Non-Current Liabilities 197 192 189 223
10. Net Assets 2,603 841 700 685
11. Shareholders' Equity 2,603 841 700 685
B. INCOME STATEMENT
1. Sales 28,067 59,760 62,959 64,506
a. Cost of Good Sold (26,827) (58,109) (60,488) (59,998)
2. Gross Profit 1,240 1,650 2,471 4,507
a. Operating Expenses (794) (1,338) (1,257) (1,195)
3. Operating Profit 447 313 1,214 3,312
a. Non Operating Income or (Expense) 14 229 (554) (1,773)
4. Profit or (Loss) before Interest and Tax 461 542 660 1,539
a. Total Finance Cost (94) (164) (305) (168)
b. Taxation (134) (238) (340) (349)
6. Net Income Or (Loss) 232 140 15 1,022
C. CASH FLOW STATEMENT
a. Free Cash Flows from Operations (FCFO) 273 666 1,047 2,200
b. Net Cash from Operating Activities before Working Capital Changes 269 520 766 2,052
c. Changes in Working Capital 1,369 1,592 276 (2,567)
1. Net Cash provided by Operating Activities 1,638 2,112 1,042 (515)
2. Net Cash (Used in) or Available From Investing Activities (318) (1,661) (303) (315)
3. Net Cash (Used in) or Available From Financing Activities (106) (45) (53) 75
4. Net Cash generated or (Used) during the period 1,214 406 685 (755)
D. RATIO ANALYSIS
1. Performance
a. Sales Growth (for the period) -6.1% -5.1% -2.4% 75.3%
b. Gross Profit Margin 4.4% 2.8% 3.9% 7.0%
c. Net Profit Margin 0.8% 0.2% 0.0% 1.6%
d. Cash Conversion Efficiency (FCFO adjusted for Working Capital/Sales) 5.9% 3.8% 2.1% -0.6%
e. Return on Equity [ Net Profit Margin * Asset Turnover * (Total Assets/Shareholders' Equity )] 27.0% 18.2% 2.2% -450.6%
2. Working Capital Management
a. Gross Working Capital (Average Days) 33 33 25 24
b. Net Working Capital (Average Days) 5 5 3 1
c. Current Ratio (Current Assets / Current Liabilities) 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.3
3. Coverages
a. EBITDA / Finance Cost 13.3 12.3 8.4 76.3
b. FCFO / Finance Cost+CMLTB+Excess STB 1.7 1.5 2.1 6.2
c. Debt Payback (Total Borrowings+Excess STB) / (FCFO-Finance Cost) 0.7 3.3 2.2 0.9
4. Capital Structure
a. Total Borrowings / (Total Borrowings+Shareholders' Equity) 10.5% 69.8% 77.5% 80.9%
b. Interest or Markup Payable (Days) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
c. Entity Average Borrowing Rate 4.9% 3.1% 6.5% 1.5%

Aug-25

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Puma Energy Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited

rating scale

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Aug-25

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Puma Energy Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited

regulatory disclosure

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  1. Rating Team Statements
    1. Rating is just an opinion about the creditworthiness of the entity and does not constitute a recommendation to buy, hold, or sell any security of the entity rated or to buy, hold, or sell the security rated, as the case may be. (Chapter III; 14-3-(x))
    2. Conflict of Interest
      1. The Rating Team or any of their family members have no interest in this rating (Chapter III; 12-2-(j))
      2. PACRA, the analysts involved in the rating process, and members of its rating committee and their family members do not have any conflict of interest relating to the rating done by them (Chapter III; 12-2-(e) & (k))
      3. The analyst is not a substantial shareholder of the customer being rated by PACRA [Annexure F; d-(ii)]
      4. Explanation: for the purpose of the above clause, the term "family members" shall include only those family members who are dependent on the analyst and members of the rating committee.
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    3. PACRA does not make proposals or recommendations regarding the activities of rated entities that could impact a credit rating of the entity subject to rating. (Chapter III; 10-7-(k))
  3. Conduct of Business
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  6. Probability of Default
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Aug-25

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