Oil price upswing a boon to Petronas Chemicals

Petronas-linked PetChem’s first quarter (Q1FY21) net profit surged 2.1 times q-o-q to RM1.46bil from higher product prices in tandem with crude oil prices.

KUALA LUMPUR: Higher product prices amid the rising crude oil price should drive stronger earnings for Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) in the current financial year (FY).

During the three-month ended June 30, crude oil price rose 13% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) while polyethylene rose by only 4% q-o-q, which led to its five-year average discount to naphtha widening to 27%.