Eastern earmarks P500M for capex

Eastern Petroleum Corp. has set aside P500 million for its capital expenditure this year, as it plans to further expand its retail network and drive up sales.

Eastern Petroleum chairman Fernando Martinez said the capex program was aimed at increasing the company’s retail network to 50 branches by end-2012 from the current 35.

Part of the budget will be used to build two fuel depots in Mindanao and Cebu. Each depot would be capable of handling 4 million liters, Martinez said.

The site for the planned depot in General Santos City has already been acquired.

Eastern Petroleum remained bullish for 2012. Its optimism was fueled by the robust sales it registered in 2011.

According to Martinez, the company expects its 2011 revenue to hit P3.5 billion to P4 billion, from P3 billion in 2010. However, this is lower than the P5 billion in sales projected by the company early last year.

“We are affected by the slowdown in the second half, but it still was a good year,” he said.