Oil refiner Petron Corp. said Tuesday net income fell 70 percent in the first three quarters to P3.6 billion from the same period last year because of depressed refining margins and refinery shutdown.
Petron said it booked a modest income on the back of contribution from its Malaysian operations and the parent company’s extensive efforts to manage costs and keep the business viable under the volatile market condition.
“This [profit] is down 70 percent from the same period last year owing to prolonged depressed refining margins in the region and its refinery shutdown,” the country’s biggest oil company said in a statement.
Petron said consolidated revenues also went down to P381.7 billion in the first nine months as sales volume retreated 7 percent following the four-month shutdown of 180,000-barrel-per-day Bataan refinery.
The Bataan refinery shut down in April and resumed normal operations in early August.
This was partially cushioned by Malaysia’s volume increase of two percent in the nine-month period.
Petron said global oil prices also remained volatile and lower compared to last year because of the ongoing trade war between the US and China.
The oil company called for a level playing field, saying that despite the decrease in Philippine volume, its stations within Freeport zones performed better than last year.
Under the current regime, enterprises like service stations within Freeport zones like Clark and Subic do not pay local and national taxes, including excise taxes. Inside the Clark Freeport Zone, Petron retail volume registered a 54-percent increase over the same period a year ago.
“This level playing field is what we hope will prevail in the entire country once the fuel marking program is in place. We fully support and look forward to its implementation but at the same time, we reiterate that this mechanism will only work if all players go by the same rules,” said Petron president and chief executive Ramon Ang.
Petron’s wholly-owned subsidiary Petron Freeport Corp. which manages its stations inside Subic Freeport Zone earlier reported a 14-percent percent increase in consolidated volume and a 20-percent improvement in net income in the first semester.
“Oil smuggling has worsened in recent years and it’s not only us in the industry but also the government and the entire nation that suffer because of it,” Ang said.
Petron opened more than 100 new stations in the Philippines and 38 new stations in Malaysia in the first three quarters of 2019.
