PTT spending P500 M to expand Phl business

PTT Philippines Corp., the local unit of Thailand’s largest petroleum company, is spending over P500 million next year to expand both its oil and non-oil businesses in the country.

This is part of its P5billion capital expenditure plan in the next five years to meet its revenue growth target of 17 percent annually, company officials said.

In a briefing yesterday, PTT Philippines president and CEO Sukanya Seriyothin said investment spending for 2018 would go primarily to the opening of more than 30 gasoline stations and about 12 Café Amazon stores in various parts of country, particularly in Luzon.

“We remain confident on the business climate in the Philippines that’s why from 20 stations that we targeted this 2017 which we actually exceeded, we are targeting more than 30 stations next year,” she said.

So far, PTT has a total of 120 stations in the country, 15 of which are in Metro Manila and the rest outside the National Capital Region, including 15 stations in the Visayas.

With the P5-billion spending set in the next five years, PTT Philippines Trading Corp. general manager Danny Alabado said the company is targeting a compounded annual growth rate of 17 percent in revenues.

For this year, PTT Philippines projects to end the year with revenues of between P20- to P22-billion and P25 billion next year, he said.

“In the next five years we’re looking at increasing retail stations to 220,” Alabado said.

Apart from gasoline stations, PTT is also expanding its coffee chain Café Amazon, which already has six stores.

“By end of this year, we will have a total of six stores that are fully operational,” PTT Philippines marketing director Thitiroj Rergsumran said.

Meanwhile, Rergsumran said the company is expected to open 12 more stores next year.

By the end of the fiveyear program, PTT eyes to open 200 outlets of Café Amazon, Alabado said.

PTT diversified into the coffee business, having more than 1,850 stores in Thailand and in other parts of Asia, including one in Japan.

In the Philippines, PTT opened its first Café Amazon in the last quarter of 2016 in its largest service station, the two-hectare PTT SCTEX.

“After SCTEX, we opened this year, our stores at PTT Dasmariñas, Cavite and at SM North Edsa,” Rergsumran said. “And this month, we are opening our stores at PTT EDSA Veterans in Quezon City, another one at PTT Pulilan (Bulacan), and at PTT Lubao (Pampanga).”