Petronas operating cashflow may fall 40%

Tough times: Petronas Twin Towers rise behind a Petronas gas station. A brokerage says Petronas’ revenue and earnings could fall further in the coming quarters, even if Brent crude prices stabilise at fourth-quarter levels. — EPA

PETALING JAYA: Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas)’s operating cashflow could fall by as much as 40% year-on-year in 2016, according to Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd.

The research house said in a report that the national oil company’s core earnings fell 67% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2015, although this has not fully reflected the scale of decline in crude oil prices due to the time lag between benchmark prices and actual average selling prices.