PETALING JAYA: Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd
(PetChem) is currently navigating a period of significant structural upheaval that is fundamentally reshaping its near-term earnings prospects.
On the macro front, BIMB Securities highlighted that the conflict in the Middle East has caused structural disruptions to global energy supplies, specifically removing significant liquefied natural gas (LNG) and oil capacity.
These outages have tightened the market for petrochemical feedstock, leading the research firm to more than double its 2026 earnings forecast for PetChem on anticipated higher product prices.
The company’s financial year 2026 (FY26) earnings projection have been raised by 112.5% to RM2.8bil, driven by a 21.6% uplift in product price assumptions.
Revenue for FY26 is now expected to reach RM35.66bil, supported by reduced losses at Pengerang Petrochemical Complex.
“This reflects our view that the current disruption cycle is more structural and embedded in nature, sustaining product prices at levels above the pre-war baseline for longer than initially anticipated.
“That said, we maintain our FY27–FY28 earnings (forecasts), as we progressively factor in a normalisation of market conditions,” BIMB Securities stated in its latest report on PetChem.
Consequently, while the target price for PetChem has been revised upward to RM6.08 a share (from RM5.71 previously), BIMB Securities has maintained its “hold” call on the stock.
