Eastern Petroleum on track for 100-store target

MANILA, Philippines - Eastern Petroleum is on track to meeting its yearend target of opening 100 outlets for its recently launched liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) business, its top official said.

Since the company launched its Eastern Composite (EC) Gas LPG business in September, it has already put up 30 outlets, said Eastern petroleum president Fernando Martinez.

“We are swarming with applications. There are some 200 applications. Sixty applications have been processed and 30 outlets have opened. An additional 30 applications are now under process,” he said.

Next year, he said the company is hoping to open 500 outlets.

Also this year, Eastern Petroleum plans a net income of between P50 to P100 million.

“Next year, I think P300 million to us is attainable. We will triple (our net income) to P300 million from P100 million, he said.

He said the contribution of the company’s LPG business would especially be felt next year as consumers become more aware of the EC Gas LPG brand.

Furthermore, Martinez said sales Would increase to up to P4.5 billion next year with the growth of the EC Gas LPG business.

The oil company new LPG cylinder is an explosion-proof cylinder, made from composite materials and is up to 10 kilograms lighter compared to the average weight of LPG made from steel.

The most important feature of the cylinder, supplied by Norway-based Hexagon Ragasco AS, it is explosion-proof even if set on fire. Ragasco is a leading producer of composite pressure containers.

Unlike ordinary LPG steel tanks that may explode when exposed to flames, the EC Gas LPG cylinder has non-explosive qualities, even with the presence of open flames, thus making it a significantly safer alternative for Filipino homes.