Petron posts P4.4-B profit

MANILA, Philippines - Petron Corp., the country’s biggest oil refiner, posted a consolidated net income of P4.4 billion in the nine months to September, almost eight times more than the P559 million recorded a year ago, the company said yesterday in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The company attributed the increase to a 13-percent growth in sales volume and better refining margins from both its Philippine and Malaysian operations.

Petron reported that total sales volumes increased by 7.1 million barrels as of the third quarter to 60.2 million from 53.2 million barrels sold a year ago.

 â€œThis translated to sales revenues of P336 billion, a nine percent growth versus last year’s level.  At the same time, refinery margins across the region significantly improved as product ‘cracks’ or the price differential between crude and finished products widened,” Petron said.

Petron chairman and chief executive officer Ramon Ang said with the strong end-September results, the company is bullish on future prospects.

 â€œWe are nearing the completion of major projects that will further boost Petron’s competitive advantage and performance. We remain bullish about our prospects and look forward to delivering stronger results,” he said.

One major project is Petron’s $2-billion Refinery Masterplan Phase 2 (RMP-2) of its 180,000 barrel-per-day Bataan refinery.