PNOC to remit P560.5-M cash dividend to government

State-run Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) will remit P560.5 million in cash dividend to the National Government.

"Based on our income last year, we are to remit some P560 million early this year. Being a government-owned and controlled corporation, we are mandated through Republic Act 7656 to declare cash dividends to the National Government representing half of our net income," PNOC president Thelmo Y. Cunanan said.

Cunanan said the dividend comes from two sources: PNOC and Petron.

PNOC, the mother firm, posted a net income of P558.6 million in 2002. He noted that Petron dividends are not considered as part of PNOC income under the Equity Method of Accounting in Investments.

PNOC owns 40 percent of Petron, the country’s largest oil refiner. The remaining 40 percent is owned by Saudi Arabian Oil Co. and the 10 percent by the public.

Petron, the only publicly-listed oil company in the Philippine stock market, registered a net income of P2.9 billion in 2002.

"Under Section 43 of the Corporation Code of the Philippines, Petron is mandated to pay dividends directly to its shareholder, PNOC, and not directly to the National Government," he said.

The PNOC chief said the company is strengthening its investments and is actively pursuing joint ventures such as in the naphtha cracker project.

These ventures, he said, will enable PNOC to post much higher earnings in the long term. The two-phase naphtha cracker project involves a hefty investment of $1.2 billion. PNOC is willing to invest more than 30 percent of the project. Aside from these capital-intensive projects, Cunanan said they are also zeroing in on some project to promote new and renewable energy sources (NREs).

"We are also focusing on strengthening our thrust on renewable energy projects such as natural gas vehicles and solar power projects. Though these renewable energy projects may not earn immediate profits, their impact on the environment is immeasurable," he said.

Aside from Petron, the other subsidiaries of PNOC are the PNOC Energy Development. Corp., PNOC Exploration Corp., PNOC Petrochemical Development Corp., PNOC Shipping and Transport Corp., and the Filoil Development and Management Corp.