Phoenix Pet absorbs 7% income drop in ’14

MANILA, Philippines - Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc., a publicly listed independent oil company, reported a seven percent drop in its net income last year on the back of the decline in oil prices which started in the middle of 2014.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Phoenix Petroleum said net income in 2014 declined in line with the continuous drop in global oil and fuel prices.

“As a result, net income declined by seven percent from P665 million in 2013 to P616 million in 2014. However, in line with the company’s strategy to focus on more profitable sales, 2014 return on sales improved to 1.8 percent coming from 1.5 percent in 2013,” Phoenix said.

According to the Department of Energy, total net price adjustments for 2014 was a net decrease of P13.29 per liter for gasoline, P15.03 for diesel, and P28.52 for liquefied petroleum gas or cooking gas.

The company posted a revenue decline of 20 percent as a result of lower sales volume and selling price during the year.

Fuel sales volume decreased 18 percent year-on-year, mostly from the non-retail segment as a result of the company’s deliberate action to temper low margin sales to distributors and wholesalers, Phoenix said.

On the other hand, volume from retail sales continues to growth in line with the company’s expansion programs despite the drop in sales to distributors and wholesalers.

Phoenix Petroleum expanded its retail station network to 418 stores at the end of last year from 368 stations in 2013. Of the total, 221 are in Mindanao, 56 in Visayas and 141 in Luzon.

“At the same time, sales to commercial accounts, primarily to the shipping, fishing, mining, power and transportation sectors, registered continuous growth during the year,” the company added.

The company supplies more than 50 percent of Cebu Pacific’s jet fuel requirements and handles as well the airline’s logistics needs in Mindanao and Visayas.

As part of its expansion program, Phoenix Petroleum continues to improve its logistics and infrastructure, such as the opening of its Mindoro storage facility to support both its network expansion and its commercial and industrial clients.

“With its investments in retail, logistics and shipping, the total assets of the company grew by 12 percent to P25 billion in 2014 from P22.4 billion in 2013,” the oil firm said.