LPG sales boost Pryce Corp. earnings

MANILA  -Listed firm Pryce Corp. recorded its highest nine-month net income to date this year at P1.23 billion, a 28.4-percent growth from its earnings in the same period last year on the back of improved liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales volume.

According to Pryce, its LPG sales grew by 7.5 percent in January to September.

Consolidated revenue, however, slightly declined to P14 billion from P14.33 due to a drop in the average contract price of LPG.

The company on Thursday said the average LPG contract price declined by 27.44 percent to $568.35 per metric ton.

Sales volume of industrial gases, meanwhile, increased by 30.5 percent.

“LPG’s peso-sale revenue would have been much higher had it not been for the [contract price] decline,” Pryce said in a stock exchange disclosure.

Pryce, a property holding and real estate development company, has two subsidiaries: Pryce Gases Inc. and Pryce Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Pryce Gases imports and distributes LPG and mainly operates in the Visayas and Mindanao. It also manufactures and markets industrial gases.

Pryce Pharmaceuticals, on the other hand, is a wholesaler and distributor of private branded multivitamins and a number of over-the-counter generic drugs.

Pryce’s LPG business contributed P13.1 billion, or 94.21 percent, to the company’s consolidated revenues. Industrial gases contributed P597 million, while its real estate business gave P177.7 million. Pharmaceuticals accounted for P34.9 million.

“Another factor in the net income increase is the improvement of LPG margins in the Luzon market. However, operating expenses went up this year because of inflation and increases in compensation, logistics, and fuel,” the company said.