State Trading Organization (STO) has revealed that the company earned a total net profit of over MVR 400 million for the year 2019.
Speaking at a press conference held Wednesday, Managing Director of STO, Hussain Amru said the company earned a net profit of MVR 422 million before tax in 2019. This is an increase of 68% compared to the previous year, he noted.
Amru attributed to the company's phenomenal performance in 2019 to the developments achieved by the company in retail trade.
The MD noted that although the company had a successful year compared to 2018, several challenges were faced by the company last year, including fluctuating oil prices in the global market. Although oil prices hiked by 34% in 2019, STO sold oil to the Maldivian market at low prices for the benefit of the country's citizens, said Amru.
"The price of oil increased during the last year due to ongoing wars in the middle-east region. However, we wanted to ensure that petrol and diesel were available to the citizens at low prices. By the year's end, prices were lowered by 80 laari compared to the prices at the beginning of the year," he said.
Amru said the company will expand their oil supply services to neighbouring Sri Lanka starting next month. Currently, STO supplies oil to Maldivian markets only.
STO is a public company with over 80% of the shares owned by the Maldivian Government. It is the leading trade company in the Maldives.
Photo: STO
