Pryce expects to meet P1.26-B profit target

MANILA, Philippines - Pryce Corp. expects to meet its P1.26-billion income target for 2017 on the back of a seasonally stronger liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales in the second half of the year.

“As the second half, especially the last quarter, is historically stronger than the first half in terms of sales volumes, management expects that its yearly net income target of P1.255 billion – plus or minus 10 percent – is within reach,” the company said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday.

Pryce said strong LPG sales continued to drive net earnings, which grew 34.16 percent from P433.28 million in January to June 2016 to P581.31 million in the same period this year.

Revenues also registered a 39.02 percent increase to P4.23 billion from last year’s P3.043 billion.

Sales of LPG, the group’s main product, accounted for 93.52 percent of total revenues. The rest was from sales of industrial gases, real estate and pharmaceutical products.

LPG cylinders sold to households are under the PryceGas brand of subsidiary Pryce Gases Inc.

Pryce also said sales volume growth rose 15.39 percent, above 2016’s benchmark industry growth of 14 percent, from 86,342 metric tons (MT) to 99,628 MT. This is despite the substantial increase in average LPG contract prices from $342 per MT to $477 per MT.