Business May 4, 2021 KARACHI: Companies listed on stock market posted highest ever quarterly profits of Rs243 billion in the first quarter of this year, up 82 percent year-on-year and 11 percent quarter-on-quarter, a brokerage reported on Monday. Of them, start-run companies saw profit increase 15 percent year-on-year and 33 percent quarter-on-quarter, while privately managed companiesâ earnings improved by 119 and 5 percent. Private companies outperformed government companies during the outgoing quarter. Government companies outperformed private companies due to exceptional profits posted by Bank of Punjab, Oil and Gas Development Company, Pakistan State Oil, and National Bank of Pakistan. In Q1, the largest contributors to KSE-100 profitability were oil marketing companies (OMCs) followed by fertilisers, cements, banks and chemicals. Top contributors were banks, OMCs, exploration and production (E&P), cements, and textiles, said analyst Shankar Talreja at Topline Securities, basing estimates on data of 94 companies which represent 98 percent of KSE-100 market capitalisation.