Petron income more than doubles to P5.1 B

MANILA, Philippines - Petron Corp., the country’s biggest oil firm, more than doubled its net income to P5.1 billion last year from P1.78 billion in 2012 on the back of higher sales, boosted by its fully consolidated Malaysian operations.

Sales volume rose 10 percent to reach 81.5 million barrels from 74.3 million barrels in 2012, the company said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Petron attributed the increase in sales volume to the full consolidation of its Malaysian business, which only factored in nine months the prior year.  As a result, revenues grew nine percent to P463.6 billion in 2013 from P424.8 billion in 2012.

The oil firm also made headway last year in its major projects and maintained its market leadership with an overall share of nearly 37 percent, driven mainly by its ongoing network expansion program.

Last year, the company added more than 200 service stations to its nationwide retail network to end 2013 with 2,200 service stations, more extensive than its two closest competitors combined.  In the strategic and highly-competitive reseller trade, Petron registered a sales volume growth of over three percent.

To complement the retail expansion, the company introduced several products, the most notable of which is Petron Blaze 100 Euro-4 - the first premium plus gasoline in the country that meets European fuel quality and environmental standards.

Petron said its $2-billion Refinery Masterplan Phase 2 or RMP-2, the single biggest investment by a Philippine company, is nearing full completion.  RMP-2 is a game-changing initiative that allows the full utilization of the Petron Bataan Refinery’s 180,000 barrels-per-day capacity, therefore enhancing the country’s oil supply security.

The Phase 2 project will also allow the refinery to significantly increase its production of high-value white products (i.e. gasoline and diesel) and petrochemicals.

Once finished, Petron will be the only oil company capable of locally producing a full range of Euro-4-compliant fuels.  RMP-2 will be in full commercial operation by 2015.

In Malaysia, Petron has successfully rebranded over 300 out of 555 stations.  The rebranding program is targeted for completion by the end of 2014. About 10 new stations were also put up as part of its retail network expansion program.  The company expects to build 30 additional stations this year to bring its premium fuels and personalized services closer to Malaysian consumers.

“Amid a year marked by volatility and intense competition, we sustained our leadership and delivered robust results.  More importantly, we remained focused on major projects aimed at unleashing the full potential of our Bataan refinery and increasing our market presence,” Petron chairman and CEO Ramon Ang said.