Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 30): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) on Tuesday announced it made a profit after tax (PAT) of RM16.31 billion for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 (3QFY21), the highest the national energy firm reported since end-2017, thanks to gains in realised prices and impairment write-backs that more than offset higher product costs.

The latest quarterly profit was 69% higher than the RM9.64 billion it posted for 2QFY21, according to its quarterly report posted on its website.

Revenue rose at a slower rate of 8.24% to RM61.77 billion from RM57.07 billion, as improved average realised prices were partially offset by lower sales volume for crude oil, condensates and liquefied natural gas (LNG), it said.

The latest quarter's PAT performance was the highest since 4QFY17, when Petronas booked a PAT of RM18.21 billion on a revenue of RM61.79 billion.

On a year-on-year basis, Petronas returned to black with its 3QFY21 PAT from a loss after tax of RM3.37 billion it incurred in 3QFY20. It saw a net impairment write-back of RM1.72 billion in 3QFY21, versus net impairment losses of RM5.71 billion in 3QFY20.

Concurrently, revenue improved 50.41% year-on-year from RM41.07 billion, again on improved average realised prices of its major products.

While Petronas' upstream division and its gas and new energy divisions saw a swing to impairment write-back, the downstream segment enjoyed better margins on the favourable prices though crude oil sales volume fell.

Meanwhile, the group's capital investments across businesses for the nine months ended Sept 30, 2021 (9MFY21) amounted to RM20.4 billion, down 9.2% from RM22.46 billion in 9MFY20.

The sum spent was just 52.3% of its August guidance, when the group anticipated a capex spend of RM39-40 billion for 2021, up from RM33.36 billion in 2020.

The latest quarterly results lifted Petronas’ 9MFY21 PAT to RM35.24 billion, compared to a net loss of RM19.89 billion in 9MFY20, thanks to higher prices and the write-backs stated, partially offset by higher product costs.

“Excluding impairment write-back/(losses), the group would record a profit after tax (PAT) of RM34.5 billion, higher by RM24.2 billion as compared to PAT excluding impairment losses for the same period in 2020,” it said.

Revenue improved 27.24% to RM171.39 billion, from RM134.7 billion a year ago. This was partially offset by a weaker US dollar against the ringgit.

In the nine-month period, net cash flow from operating activities improved 67% to RM54.49 billion from RM32.62 billion in 9MFY20, in line with higher cash from operating profits partially offset by higher tax paid.

“The current trajectory of the oil and gas industry is expected to continue, given modest recovery in demand underpinned by improvements of economic activities globally,” Petronas said.

“Petronas will remain steadfast in driving operational and commercial excellence to improve its liquidity and profitability, in pursuit of its growth strategy,” it added.

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Edited ByTan Choe Choe
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