Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. said Tuesday net income fell 16 percent in the first half to P4.2 billion from P5 billion in the same period last year, on lower oil prices and following the maintenance shutdown of its oil refinery in Batangas province.
Pilipinas Shell said the six-month results were affected by the refinery preventive maintenance shutdown in the last two months of the second quarter and lower inventory holding gains from softer global oil prices.
“The solid operational performance and reliability of the Tabangao refinery from January to April plus strong refining margins during the period mitigated the impact of the planned preventive maintenance shutdown in the succeeding two months,” Pilipinas Shell said in a statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Pilipinas Shell said in the second quarter alone, net income declined to P1.298 billion from P2.798 billion a year ago, despite the growth in revenues to P40 billion from P35 billion.
It said the safe and successful completion of the preventive maintenance program on the 110,000-barrel-per-day Tabangao refinery, combined with better freight optimization via the North Mindanao Import Facility in Cagayan de Oro City added robustness to the company’s integrated supply chain and assured the reliable supply of quality fuel products.
The company said gross revenues in January to June climbed to P82.557 billion from P66.38 billion in the first half of 2016.
Retail network sales volumes grew 6 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, following Shell’s successful Summer Charged promo and the launch of the company’s new V-Power performance and efficiency fuels with Dynaflex technology on June 8.
The company inaugurated its 1000th retail site in May as a part of its network expansion plan.
Pilipinas Shell said the non-fuel retailing business also grew from last year, with convenience retailing showing double-digit growth compared to prior quarter.
The company opened 20 Shell Select stores and 9 new Deli2Go shops in the first half including its first stand-alone Deli2Go outlet.
“Sustainability underpins our growth as a company,” said Pilipinas Shell president and chief executive Cesar Romero.