Petron says profit soars to P1-B in H1

MANILA, Philippines – Earnings of Petron Corp., the country’s largest oil refiner, grew sixfold in the first half of 2013 with the full consolidation of its Malaysian operations.

In a statement posted on the Philippine Stock Exchange website on Tuesday, August 6, Petron said it booked a net income of P1.1 billion in January to June, against only P183 million in the same months of 2012.

The company said revenues went up 13% to P218.8 million on account of a 22% increase in sales volume to 39.8 million.

The company said the operations of its Malaysian unit have been fully consolidated into its financial results.

Petron said the second quarter remained to be challenging following a drop in commodity prices.

It explained it saw “depressed” margins as Dubai crude prices fell to an average of $101 per barrel in Q2 from $108/barrel in Q1. “This caused local fuel prices to fall sharply against higher costing inventory.”

As the oil industry remains volatile, Petron, which holds a 38% share of the domestic market, said it would focus on boosting profitability over the long term.

The company is nearly done with phase two of the upgrade of its refinery plant in Bataan. The upgrade will “substantially” improve its margins because it will allow Petron to convert fuel oil to high-value gasoline, diesel and petrochemicals.

Petron has over 2,100 service retail stations in the Philippines.

In Malaysia, it has 560 stations, of which about 200 have been rebranded as Petron. – Rappler.com