Shell earnings zoom to P1.7 billion

MANILA, Philippines —  Earnings of Shell Pilipinas Corp. (SPC) accelerated in the first half, powered by high premium penetration across all sectors and inventory holding gains with the uptrend in global fuel prices.

In a regulatory filing, the listed oil firm reported a net income of P1.7 billion from January to June, more than 14 times the P122.9 million the company earned in the same period last year.

Stripping off inventory holding gains and other one-off items, core earnings inched up by 2.1 percent to P1.47 billion from last year’s P1.44 billion due to operating expense savings, which tempered the volume drop during the period.

Sales volume in the first semester declined by 7.6 percent to two billion liters from 2.1 billion liters a year earlier.

This resulted in a marginal slip in net sales to P125.4 billion from P128.4 billion, mainly due to lower marketing volumes.

“Our strong first-half performance underscores our resilience and ability to deliver value even in a challenging economic environment,” SPC president and CEO Lorelie Quiambao-Osial said.

She said they are currently exploring new strategies to increase both volume and value moving forward.

SPC saw increased premium penetration in mobility and higher premium product sales across business-to-business segment as new customers were drawn by targeted marketing campaigns and promotions.

In the second quarter, meanwhile, profit fell by 21 percent to P340.4 million from P433.1 million as the high interest rate environment and the weaker peso trimmed the company’s gains.

“As we continue to provide more and cleaner energy solutions for the Filipinos, we will power progress through our refreshed strategy, working on increasing shareholder value, boosting business resilience and driving financial strength through strong earnings,” Quiambao-Osial said.

For 2024, SPC has programmed a capital spending of up to P3 billion to accelerate growth and improve supply chain.