Petron posts P4.99B net income in first 9 months of 2021

Petron Corp. continued its recovery momentum in the first nine months of 2021 despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, Petron reported a net income of P4.99 billion during the January to September 2021 period, a reversal from P12.6-billion net loss sustained in the same period last year.

The company said its end-September 2021 consolidated sales of 59.2 million barrels matched last year’s level of 59.5 million barrels in spite of the sustained quarantine lockdowns of 2021.

The performance of key trades in the country showed improvements versus a year ago with local sales of lubricants growing by 28% for the period, Petron said.

Its retail station volume, likewise, posted a 9% increase even as the government re-imposed stricter quarantine protocols to contain another surge of COVID-19 infections.

Petrochemical exports also saw a substantial growth with end-September 2021 sales increasing by 68% versus 2020 volume.

As international oil prices continued to rally with Dubai crude breaching the $75 per barrel-mark in the third quarter, Petron said its consolidated revenues from its Philippine and Malaysian operations rose 35% to P291.57 billion from P216.43 billion a year ago.

Efforts to reduce costs and yield more savings contributed to Petron’s continued financial recovery, it said.

“Despite external challenges, sustaining the financial resilience of the company has helped ensure that we have the means and the capacity to continue growing the business while providing our investors with the best returns. These include strategic investments in our service station expansion, refinery enhancements, and supply chain management. We are looking forward to ending 2021 in a much stronger and stable position than last year,” said Petron president and CEO Ramon Ang.

In October, Petron listed on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx) P18 billion in fixed-rate, peso-denominated bonds, which will refinance the company’s existing debts, and fund the construction of a new power plant in Bataan set to be completed and operational next year.

During a House briefing Monday, Ang expressed willingness to sell Petron back to the national government.

"'Yung sina-suggest na bilhin ng gobyerno 'yung Petron, privatization, anytime po puwede ko pa ipautang sa Philippine government, bilhin ninyo ito ng over five years to pay, ano ho 'yan, I swear kung gusto ng gobyerno bilhin handa niyo na, sabihin niyo na, bebenta ko kaagad sa inyo. Pagawaan niyo na ng valuation immediately, walang arte-arte," Ang told lawmakers.

(The proposal for the government to buy Petron, anytime I could sell it and the government can pay for it for five years. If the government wants to buy it, I am ready to sell it immediately.)—AOL, GMA News