PETRON Corp. registered a whooping profit in the first three months of the year mainly on account of higher sales.
At end-March this year, the oil firm posted a net income of P2.8 billion, more than 10 times the previous year’s earnings of P257 million over the same period.
Revenues dropped by 11 percent to P77 billion, from P86.7 billion in the first three months of 2015, mainly on account of lower oil prices.
Despite lower revenues, the company reported higher sales volumes, which partially offset the drop in oil prices.
Sales volume surged to 25.3 million barrels at end-March this year, up by 9 percent from last year’s 23.2 million barrels.
The company said its strong performance was boosted by higher sales from both its local and regional operations.
Sales volumes, it added, were up across all major business segments in both the Philippines and Malaysia.
Operating income nearly doubled in the first quarter of 2016, reaching P5.8 billion from P3 billion in the same period in 2015.
Despite weak oil prices in the first few months of 2016, the differential between crude and finished products remained strong, supporting refining margins. Petron’s $2-billion refinery upgrade project also supported margins with higher utilization of its 180,000 barrels-per-day capacity, increased production of higher-value fuels and petrochemicals, and the use of cost-efficient heavier crudes.
Petron remained the undisputed industry leader in the country with total sales growing by another eight percent in the first quarter. While it posted strong growth in reseller, industrial and LPG trades, the company made headway in the local lubricants sector, expanding 16 percent in this business.
In Malaysia increasing confidence in the Petron brand translated into more industrial customers. This segment posted a 17-percent growth in the first three months of 2016, versus the same period in 2015. Service station volumes also improved, supported by the company’s upgrading and network expansion programs.
Petron said it would continue to focus on its network expansion program with the aim of building over 250 new service stations in the Philippines and Malaysia in 2016. There are nearly 2,800 Petron stations combined.
“We are now experiencing the full benefits of our strategic programs and we are gaining momentum as we reach new levels of growth and profitability,” Petron President Ramon S. Ang said. “We are definitely on track to deliver a stronger performance this year.”