Phoenix Petroleum earmarks P10 B to fuel expansion

MANILA, Philippines -  Publicly-listed oil firm Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. is earmarking up to P10 billion to ramp up its aggressive growth plan through the expansion of its retail network as well as acquisitions over the next three years.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, the company said it is prepared to spend as much as P10 billion over the next three years for expansion, including possible acquisitions.

“We plan to spend P6 to P8 billion more over the next three years as we look to expand through acquisitions,” Phoenix president and CEO Dennis Uy said during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting.

The amount is on top of the company’s P2-billion budget for capital expenditures in 2017 as it continues to increase its retail network, storage and logistic capacities.

It is targeting to become the country’s the third largest oil company by the end of the year.

For the possible acquisitions, Phoenix Petroleum is targeting any oil company of any size and or related business such as lubes and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), company vice president for external affairs Raymond Zorilla said in a text message yesterday.

For the expansion of its retail network, the company will be launching an average 50 stations per year.

“An average of 50 stations per year will be built for the next two to three years, consistent with historical rate,” Zorilla said.

As of end-2016, Phoenix Petroleum has 505 stations—an increase from 454 stations in 2015 —which partially helped the company hit a record high sales volume of 1.5 billion liters for the period.

The oil firm breached post the P1-billion income mark last year, up 21 percent from the P905.87-million net earnings in 2015.

Core earnings from the fuel business more than doubled from P416 million to P937 million due to better margins and sales mix.