Pryce Q1 earnings rise 39% to P714M

PRYCE Corp. said Wednesday that its net income had grown by 39.5 percent to P713.68 million IN THE FIRST QUARTER, FROM P511.54 MILLION A YEAR EARLIER, ON THE BACK OF HIGHER Liquefied PETROLEUM gas (LPG) margins.

Revenues, however, were 9.50 percent lower at P4.69 billion from P5.18 billion following a drop in average contract prices (CP) to $633.67 per metric ton from $708.17 and a decrease in sales.

The contract price drop led to lower LPG prices, Pryce said, while the lower sales was said to have driven by a return to pre-pandemic out-of-home consumption levels.

For other gas revenues, sales of industrial gases rose by 14.7 percent.

The LPG segment accounted for P4.4 billion (93.71 percent) of consolidated revenues while industrial gases contributed P204.22 million (4.35 percent).

Real estate, meanwhile, generated P76.26 million (1.63 percent) and pharmaceuticals P14.58 million (0.31 percent).

The company’s operating expenses were said to have climbed by 10.21 percent to P747.03 million, from P677.80 million, due to inflation and an increase in salaries, cost of logistics and fuel.

Pryce Corp.’s share price fell by 12 centavos to P5.57 on Wednesday amid a 1.01-percent rise for the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.