Improved sales, product mix boost Petron income

MANILA, Philippines - Petron Corp., the country’s biggest oil refiner, posted higher income in the first quarter of the year as improved sales and product mix boosted revenues, the company said yesterday.

Petron’s consolidated income stood at P2.23 billion in the first quarter of the year, better than last year’s P2.20 billion, the company reported.

Revenues grew 12 percent to P75.4 billion on the back of a two percent increase in volume and an improvement in the product sales mix.

With the rosy first quarter figures, Petron chairman and chief executive officer Ramon Ang said prospects for the coming months are positive.

“We are excited about the company’s prospects in the coming months with our ongoing upgrading and expansion projects. We are close to realizing our vision of a larger and stronger

Petron especially with the completion of our biggest investment to date, the Refinery Master Plan-2,” he said.

In terms of revenues, Petron said consolidated revenues with Petron Malaysia grew to P125.2 billion, higher by 12 percent from last year’s P112 billion.

Consolidated sales volumes grew four percent to 20.7 million barrels from 20 million barrels.

Furthermore, retail volumes for the company’s Philippine and Malaysian operations reached 10.6 million barrels, up six percent from 10 million barrels in 2013, owing to improved network sales.

The company also implemented a service station expansion program, reaching more retail customers.

To date, Petron has a combined network of over 2,700 stations, 2,200 of which are in the Philippines where it remains the leader with about 37 percent of the total market.

For its refinery, Petron expects its $2-billion Refinery Master Plan–2 (RMP-2) to be in full commercial operation by 2015.

Ang said this, would drastically increase the production of gasoline, diesel and petrochemicals at Petron’s Bataan Refinery.

Furthermore, RMP-2 will enhance the country’s supply security since it gives more flexibility to refine crude oil from various sources.  More importantly, Petron will be capable of locally producing fuels that meet the more stringent Euro-4 environmental standard.

Aside from its RMP-2 and retail expansion program, Petron is also fast-tracking its Logistics Master Plan (LMP), which further integrates Petron’s supply chain with the aim of serving customers’ fuel needs in the fastest, safest, and most cost-effective means.

Toward this end, Petron is upgrading existing facilities and the construction of new storage tanks in strategic locations, modernization of tank trucks, among others.

 â€œThese projects will enhance the value generation of Petron’s key assets and gives it a unique advantage from refining to distribution to marketing,” Ang said.

Petron has a 180,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery that produces a full range of petroleum products to supply nearly 40 percent of the country’s total fuel requirements.