KUALA LUMPUR: Petron Malaysia Refining and Marketing Bhd’s pre-tax profit for the third quarter (Q3) ended September 30, 2016, fell by 43 per cent to RM60.77 million from RM107.47 million in the same quarter last year amid squeeze in margins.
Revenue narrowed to RM1.82 billion from RM2.16 billion previously, it said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia today.
Petron Malaysia said the margins were partially affected by inventory holding loss as dated Brent was on a declining trend during the quarter which settled to an average price of US$46 per barrel from US$48 in April. For the cumulative nine months, pre-tax profit eased to RM170.21 million from RM296.16 million in the same period of 2015 while revenue fell to RM5.31 billion from RM6.26 billion previously.
It said sales volume for the cumulative nine months, however, grew by three per cent to 23.8 million barrels from RM23.1 million barrels last year.
“This was driven mainly by strong domestic sales, which grew by seven per cent over the period. Sales remained strong as station volume continued to grow with the ongoing brand differentiation efforts including new product offerings,” it said.
The company said it remained on track with key programmes aimed at growing its market presence. “Together with the sister companies, the group continues to stream new service stations,” it said.
