Petron sees P12 billion profit for 2023

MANILA, Philippines — Oil giant Petron Corp. is poised to achieve a third straight year of growth, with earnings seen rising by more than half.

Petron president and CEO Ramon Ang said the company is projecting a net income of P12 billion for full year 2023.

The amount is 79 percent higher than the P6.7 billion profit the company recorded in 2022.

“2022 we were hit by sudden drop in world prices. It was up and down. That is where we got hit. Unlike in 2023, it was stable,” Ang said.

Petron has been on a sustained recovery path since 2021 after suffering a net loss of P11.4 billion in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So far this year, the company has seen consistent growth in all areas of its business, resulting in a 16 percent jump in net income to P9.5 billion in the nine months through September.

Petron has cited its wide reach, superior product quality, and reliable service as among the factors that have allowed the company to sustain its good performance throughout 2023, which also enabled it to maintain or even strengthen its market share in high-demand sectors.

For 2024, Ang said Petron should be “okay” if there would be no inventory loss.

Meanwhile, Petron is scheduled to complete by mid-2025 its coco-methyl ester (CME) plant in its Bataan Refinery Complex, according to Ang.

The CME plant, once finished, will allow the company to produce its own CME.

As the country’s largest oil company, Petron has been recognized by the government for being the leading contributor to its fuel marking program, a mechanism to curb fuel smuggling.

Petron’s Bataan Refinery, which is currently the only remaining refinery in the country, serves as a world-class refining facility and petrochemicals complex.

The refinery can supply around 40 percent of the the country’s total domestic fuel requirement given its 180,000-barrel-per-day capacity.

Petron is also keen on intensifying its environmental, social and governance programs aimed at reducing carbon emission, waste management, and energy conservation.

The company recently made available its latest LPG innovation, the Fiesta Gas 170-gram refillable cylinder, in Mindanao as part of its continuing efforts to combat the use of illegally refilled butane canisters.