KARACHI: The Pakistan State Oil (PSO) is expected to post sharply lower first-half profit as falling global prices offset stronger sales. State-run PSO, which is earmarked for partial privatisation in March, is likely to see further earnings pressure in its second half if world energy prices remain soft. The government has long planned to sell a 51 per cent stake in PSO, which controls almost 65 per cent of petroleum marketing business in the country. But the transaction has been postponed repeatedly because of lukewarm interest from buyers. However, investor interest has been healthier this time, raising hopes of a successful sell-off. The PSO is expected to post a net profit for its July-December first half of between 1.35 billion rupees and 1.97 billion rupees ($22.2-32.4 million), according to a range of forecasts from five analysts surveyed by Reuters. The firm, which has a stock market of just below $1 billion, earned Rs3.35 billion in the same period last year. It will release its results on Feb 22. As Pakistan’s top oil marketer, PSO has the largest oil product inventories, making it more susceptible to price falls.