Phoenix allots P500 million for new stations

MANILA, Philippines - Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. is spending P500 million next year to put up more than 100 stations all over the country.

Raymond Zorrilla, Phoenix spokesman said, they are planning to build about 43 stations in Luzon, 40 in Mindanao and 20 in the Visayas.

“We will be putting up 100 additional stations next year to formalize our claim to be the leading independent player,” he said.

Zorrilla said they would finance the cost of the new stations through internally-generated funds, savings and loans.

He said the company would be increasing its sales volume by 25 percent next year because of the expansion of its retail network and improvement in its commercial trade.

Aside from the new service stations, he said they would also be putting up additional oil depots next year.

“We are planning to put up three more installations or depots next year. We intend to put up in Iloilo, Bacolod and Cebu,” he said.

According to the official, they will also be expanding their oil warehouses in Davao and Batangas.

He said they would be more aggressive next year and the years to come in terms of expansion.

“We have invested a lot in branding. We have a vision to be the leading independent. We want to cement our status as leading independent player both in terms of network share and market share,” he said.

For the first nine months of 2011, Phoenix reported a 61 percent growth in net income to P417 million from P259 million in the same period in 2010.

The company attributed the substantial improvement in income to the huge growth in revenues.

It said revenues surged by 110 percent to P20.68 billion in the first three quarters of 2011 compared to P9.78 billion a year ago.

The increase in revenue was a result of the company’s increase in volume by 72 percent year-on-year.

The oil firm said the growth comes from the expansion of the independent oil company’s retail network and increase in sales from its retail and commercial accounts.

In 2010, Phoenix Petroleum is estimated to have captured 2.5 percent market share in the petroleum industry based on volume. It is the leading independent oil company in Mindanao and is aggressively expanding in Luzon and the Visayas.

The company is primarily engaged in the business of trading refined petroleum products and lubricants, operation of oil depots and storage facilities, and allied services.