Petron H1 profit falls 72%

Petron Corp. saw its first-semester net income drop 72 percent year-on-year to P2.6 billion as the oil firm felt a regionwide slump in refining margins.

The San Miguel group subsidiary said in a statement the slump slashed as much as P5 billion from its Philippine operations in the first six months.

Even then, strong results from Petron’s Malaysian operations and the extensive savings on fixed costs enabled continued growth during the period.

However, consolidated sales revenue went down 7 percent to P254.8 billion, as a 4-percent growth in Malaysia tempered a decline in the Philippines.

Petron said domestic sales decreased in volume due to the implementation of the second tranche of the TRAIN (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) law, which brought total fuel taxes to an average of P6.75 per liter.

“These setbacks are just temporary and are all part of the business,” Petron president and chief executive Ramon S. Ang said.

In the meantime, Petron is resuming normal operations at its Bataan Refinery after completing scheduled repair works.
Petron is continuing expansion of its retail network, completing 72 new stations in the Philippines in the first half.

In Malaysia, in the same period, Petron opened 24 new stations.