Petron net income fell 67% in 2019

Petron Corp. said weak output and technical issues at its refinery in Bataan province pulled down its consolidated net income by 67 percent to P2.3 billion in 2019 from P7.1 billion in 2018.

The oil firm’s Philippines business alone reported a net loss of P1.4 billion last year after a profit of P2.8 billion in the previous year.

“Following the unplanned total [refinery] plant shutdown which begun in April, the company’s refining business in the Philippines incurred losses due to low production as well as startup and stabilization activities in August to September last year,” Petron said.Weak refining markets also pulled down the numbers as the oil market remained volatile in 2019 due to political tensions in the Middle East and uncertainties in the global economy.

Petron said that as the average price of Dubai crude went down 4 percent to $63 per barrel in 2019 from $69 per barrel in 2018, regional prices of finished petroleum products and petrochemicals also dropped amid an oversupply vis-a-vis a slowdown in demand.

“Despite the challenging business environment, we still pursued our strategic goals to sustain our leadership and deliver long-term growth for our company,” Petron president Ramon Ang said in a statement.

“Moving forward, we intend to keep our focus on further expanding our reach, strengthening our services and product offerings, and increasing our operational efficiency to better secure our position for the future,” Ang said.—RONNEL W. DOMINGO