Petron net income surged 173% in H1

Petron Corp., the country’s largest refiner and retailer, posted a 173-percent surge in its net income to P3 billion in the first half of 2014, due to higher sales recorded from its local and Malaysian operations.

In a statement, Petron explained that the total sales volume from its operations in the two countries saw an 8-percent increase to 43.1 million barrels for the January to June 2014 period, from only 39.8 million barrels a year ago.

This translated to an 18-percent growth in consolidated sales revenues to P258.2 billion during the period, from the P218.8 billion recorded in the first half of 2013.

In the Philippines alone, the oil company’s sales volume rose 10 percent to 25.1 million barrels, which can be attributed to Petron’s service station expansion program and the country’s increased economic activity. Industrial sales likewise increased, with the growth coming from the fishing and power generation sectors.

Petron has close to 2,200 stations nationwide, which it pointed out is larger than the networks of its two closest competitors combined.

In Malaysia, Petron’s sales volume grew by 6 percent to 18 million barrels in the first half of 2014 on the back of a stronger network, industrial, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales.

According to Petron, its rebranding and Malaysian upgrading program is in full swing with 380 out of 550 service stations already converted to the Petron brand, while 10 new Petron stations have already been established.

Petron Gasul, which was launched less than two years ago in Malaysia, helped improve sales in this sector, while the company’s efforts in the industrial sector allowed it to capture key aviation accounts.

“Our expansion, logistics, and branding initiatives have enabled us to deliver strong results across major business segments. This bodes well for the company ahead of RMP-2’s commissioning which will further boost our production and refining margins,” said Petron chair and CEO Ramon S. Ang.

The $2-billion Refinery Master Plan 2 (RMP-2), the company’s largest and most ambitious project to date, allows the full conversion of the Bataan refinery’s fuel oil production to higher margin products such as gasoline and diesel. This in turn enables the facility to maximize its 180,000 barrels-per-day production capacity and ensure local fuel supply for the country’s growing demand. RMP-2 is slated for full commercial  operations by 2015.

“Once RMP-2 is launched, it will unleash the full potential of our key assets in refining, distribution, and retail marketing,” Ang added.