PACRA Maintains the Entity Ratings of PARCO Pearl Gas (Private) Limited

PARCO Pearl Gas (Private) Limited (“PPGL” or “the Company”) is part of the broader energy portfolio of Pak Arab Refinery Limited (PARCO), its sole shareholder and a joint venture between the Government of Pakistan (60%) and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (40%). PARCO’s influence is deeply embedded across PPGL’s operations and governance, as it serves as the principal LPG supplier meeting majority of the Company’s requirements on assured terms, while also nominating the entire Board, with PPGL’s Chairman concurrently holding the position of Managing Director at PARCO. This integration within PARCO’s energy value chain lends the Company the technical depth, institutional relationships, and financial muscle of Pakistan’s most significant energy infrastructure group. The assigned ratings reflect PPGL’s position among the leading LPG marketers in the country, supported by the established strength of the “Pearl Gas” and “Super Gas” brands and a market share of approximately 7.5%. The operating environment of the LPG Sector remained supportive during FY26. National LPG demand is estimated to have reached ~2.8mln MT, as households remains the dominant consuming segment increasingly substituted LPG for curtailed natural gas, with Punjab alone accounting for over half of national offtake. The industry, regulated by OGRA under a notified price-ceiling regime, remains highly fragmented with over 350 licensed marketing companies and no dominant participant, while roughly two-thirds of aggregate supply is imported at prices benchmarked to the Saudi Aramco Contract Price. Against this backdrop, FY26 has been strong year for PPGL. Improved availability of indigenous product allowed the Company to meet its entire requirement during 9MFY26 through local procurement a marked shift from FY25, when costlier imported cargoes and a maintenance shutdown had compressed margins. Revenue stood at PKR 25,725mln for 9MFY26 (FY25: PKR 41,252mln; FY24: PKR 37,801mln), with the gross margin rebounding to 16.1% (FY25: 4.4%) and the net margin to 6% (FY25: 1.5%). While volumes handled moderated to ~138,447 MT thus far (FY25: ~203,000 MT). Liquidity remains a structural strength: advance receipts from distributors and supplier credit keep working capital days negative, the balance sheet is essentially debt-free, and unutilized available revolving lines provide further cushion. Going forward, the Company is positioning itself for the next phase of growth. The 2,080 MT expansion of the Lahore filling plant has been completed with all regulatory approvals secured, lifting aggregate storage capacity to 5,420 MT and providing headroom well ahead of anticipated demand. Management is also pursuing deeper integration of the supply chain through terminal and pipeline arrangements to safeguard against any resurgence in import reliance, while the Company’s SAP S/4HANA platform — the only deployment with the IS-OIL module among Pakistan’s LPG players — is expected to keep driving efficiency, control, and data-led decision-making across an expanding network of eight filling plants, twelve hospitality units, three distribution centres, and a dedicated fleet of over 80 bowsers.
The ratings remain dependent on the sustainability of the margin recovery achieved in FY26, retention of market position, and continuity of the Company’s prudent, internally funded financial policy.

About the Entity
PPGL was incorporated in 1982 as Lifeline (Private) Limited and assumed its present name following acquisition by PARCO on October 1, 2012. It is principally engaged in the procurement, storage, bottling, and marketing of LPG across Pakistan. The five-member Board is chaired by Mr. Irteza Ali Qureshi, a UK-qualified Chartered Accountant. Mr. Yasser ul haq Effendi, an energy-sector professional with over 28 years of experience, having served at Shell Pakistan Limited. KPMG Taseer Hadi & Co., the external auditors, expressed an unqualified opinion on the financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2025.