KUALA LUMPUR: Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd recorded a net profit of RM61.53mil for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016, down 16.1% from RM73.37mil a year earlier due to lower margins.
Announcing its interim unaudited results to the exchange on Thursday, the oil company said the slump in margin arose from weaker price differentials between finished products and crude oil.
Revenue for the quarter fell 19.2% to RM1.83bil.
Earlier this week, Petronas’ principal domestic marketing arm Petronas Dagangan Bhd announced a 21.3% year-on-year drop in its earnings to RM214.95mil for the same quarter.
Although Petron's revenue for the first half-year (H1) dipped 15% year-on-year to RM3.49bil and net profit tumbled 40% to RM78.14mil, Petron said sales volume for H1 actually grew by 7%, or 1 million barrels, to 16.1 million barrels against the same period last year.
The company, which is 73.4% indirectly owned by Philippines-listed Petron Corp (through Petron Oil & Gas International Sdn Bhd), said both its retail and commercial businesses contributed significantly to the upswing in volumes.
Commenting on its prospects, Petron said it would focus on operations, network expansion and its service offerings to sustain its sales growth.
“The company will continue to focus on strategic programmes that will bring it closer to its customers. These include more stations and service offerings together with an efficient value chain,” it said.
Petron shares slipped 7 sen to end Thursday’s trading at RM4.24.