Philex posts net loss of P58M

Philex Petroleum Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Philex Mining Corp., posted a total comprehensive net loss of P58 million in the first quarter of 2012, from a net income of P437.5 million in the same period last year.

A filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange showed that Philex Petroleum, led by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan, recorded a 94-percent plunge in its consolidated operating revenue to P8.9 million in the first three months of this year from P137.4 million a year ago.

Of the P8.9 million, P8.8 million represented revenue from petroleum, while the remaining P84,000 came from coal sales.

“The lower revenue during the current period was due to the temporary closing of production in the Galoc oil field from late 2011 up to the end of the first quarter this year,” Philex Petroleum explained.

Revenue from petroleum came from the Galoc, Nido, Matinloc, North Matinloc and Libertad oil and gas fields off Palawan, while coal earnings came from Philex Petroleum’s wholly owned subsidiary, Brixton Energy and Mining Corp.

Philex Petroleum and FEC Resources Inc., another subsidiary of Philex Mining, hold a combined 64.45 percent of the issued capital of Forum Energy Plc., which holds a 70-percent stake in Service Contract 72 covering the highly prospective yet controversial Recto Bank.