Phoenix bottom line fell 30% in January to September

Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. saw its net income for the first three quarters drop 30 percent year-on-year to P918 million this year from P1.3 billion perviously, which was blamed partly on the government’s tax reform efforts.

“The company continued to face headwinds during the quarter as the passed-on impact of TRAIN [Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law] I and II taxes put pressure on our competitiveness against the informal market,” Phoenix chief operating officer Henry Albert R. Fadullon said in a statement.

“Hence, we support the government’s initiative in closing tax leakages through the fuel marking program that is being piloted,” Fadullon said. "We look forward to its full implementation in February 2020 to redress such unfair practices.”

He added that industry players also needed to observe a more stringent enforcement of regulations governing bonded warehouses and a rigorous crackdown on noncompliant players to improve industry volume and tax collections.

The country’s three biggest oil firms in terms of market share — Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and Chevron Philippines Inc. — have similarly expressed support for the fuel marking program.

Chevron, through its Caltex operations, earlier said it had started fuel marking activities in its facility in Batangas while Shell and Petron said they were ready for implementation.

In the nine months to September, Phoenix racked up an operating income of P2.5 billion, up by 10 percent year-on-year while revenues jumped 13 percent to reach P73.2 billion.

Overall sales volume was 16 percent higher year-on-year — close to two-thirds (64 percent) were derived from Phoenix’s foreign operations — but higher costs from increased fuel premiums weighed on the volume and margins.

Growth of Phoenix’s retail business was pegged at 22 percent, thanks to the opening of new fuel stations and regular retrofitting of existing ones. As of September, Phoenix counts 650 stations operating across the archipelago.

According to Phoenix, its nonfuel retail businesses were also turning in higher sales, especially the FamilyMart convenience store chain, which had a network of 76 stores and 18 more in development.

On liquefied petroleum gas, nine-month sales rose 20 percent, thanks to expansion in Luzon amid continued growth in Visayas and Mindanao.

Sales volume for aviation fuel increased 11 percent as Phoenix’s footprint had expanded to 18 airports.