Petron profit grows 58% to P5.1 B

MANILA, Philippines - Petron Corp., the country’s largest oil refiner, grew its net income by over half in the first nine months, helped by stabilizing oil prices and a surge in sales volume.

The listed oil firm’s consolidated profit reached P5.1 billion from January to September, up 58  percent year on year.

Revenues, however, dipped by 27 percent to P278.3 billion due to lower oil prices.

Operating income, meanwhile, nearly doubled to P13.7 billion from P7.1 billion due to higher sales volumes in the Philippines and Malaysia which grew by 14 percent to 73.6 million barrels.

Locally, sales volume went up by 22 percent to 46.6 million barrels on the back of new outlet openings.  This was supported by its $2 billion refinery master plan  2, which is on track for full commercial operation by early 2016.

Petron said utilization rate of the refinery has reached 95 percent.

Sales of liquified petroleum gas grew by 21 percent as its Petron Gasul brand remains the most preferred in the market.

Petron Malaysia, on the other hand, booked a 26 percent growth in industrial sales.

“We are definitely on track to deliver stronger results in 2015 amid a challenging business environment. Key investments specifically in our refining and retail businesses have given us an edge over our competition,” Petron president and CEO Ramon S. Ang said in a statement.

 Petron has started locally producing a full range of premium fuels that meet the Euro 4 global standard. It rolled out Euro 4 gasoline variants last June and Euro 4 diesel early this month.

 Petron Malaysia also started to produce Euro 4 gasoline (Blaze 97) in September.

 “The roll-out of more efficient and environment-friendly fuels in the region affirms our commitment to introduce fuels relevant to consumers while reducing our environmental footprint,” Ang said.