Pilipinas Shell posts flat income growth in Q3

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation (SHLPH) has registered flat earnings growth in the third quarter of the year after two months of planned refinery maintenance shutdown and slightly lower inventory holding gains.

However, these challenges, which made it hard for the listed fuel firm pull off a much higher growth, were somehow overshadowed by the retail business growth the company has registered during the period as well as its high V-Power penetration and robust refinery performance.

A disclosure in the Philippine Stock Exchange showed that the company netted R6.6 billion, which is 4 percent higher than the R6.4 billion the company registered in the third quarter of 2016.

During the period, the company also logged R124.12 billion in gross revenues, which is also higher than the R101.63 billion it had last year.

“This earnings performance translates to 20 percent return on average capital employed, demonstrating the company’s ability to effectively utilize capital to generate superior returns,” Pilipinas Shell told the local bourse.

During the period, Pilipinas Shell’s retail network sales volumes grew by 5 percent on the back of the the continued higher uptake of Shell’s best performance and efficiency fuel, V-Power with the breakthrough DYNAFLEX Technology, and the expansion of its retail footprint.

To date, the company’s highly efficient retail network has 1,014 retail stations serving motorists all over the country.

Without specifying exact figure, Pilipinas Shell’s non-fuel retailing business also experienced a double-digit growth even as the recently opened Select stores are still maturing. To date, the company has opened 29 Shell Select stores and has upgraded the store formats of a number of Shell Select sites as part of the company’s commitment to continually improve customer experience.