PCG PROFIT JUMPS TO RM964M
Improvement attributed to, among others, higher output volumes from Sabah Ammonia Urea plant
PETRONAS Chemicals Group Bhd’s (PCG) net profit doubled to RM964 million in the second quarter ended June 30 from RM462 million a year ago.
The company attributed the improvement to the commencement of commercial operations at the Sabah Ammonia Urea (Samur) plant in May.
Group revenue rose 24 per cent to RM3.96 billion, mainly due to higher sales volumes and prices as well as a stronger| US dollar.
For the six-month period, PCG’s net profit also doubled to RM2.26 billion from RM1.05 billion in the same period a year ago due to higher volumes and improving product spreads.
Its revenue rose 36 per cent to RM8.65 billion from RM6.35 billion in the previous year’s corresponding period
PCG said the average product prices in its fertiliser and methanol segment increased five per cent, contributed by the higher volumes from Samur.
“While this continued to be a challenging period for the industry, we have delivered resilient performance to sustain healthy margins and returns, with earnings driven by the strong momentum of our growth projects,” said PCG managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Sazali Hamzah in a statement yesterday.
“Samur is a significant milestone for us and we are confident that it will continue to positively impact our bottom line,” he added.
Sazali noted that operational and commercial excellence remain PCG’s core priority to ensure long-term business sustainability.
“Importantly, the business delivered resilient Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) with a 40 per cent margin and sound improvements in cost efficiency. With this good performance, PCG is well-positioned operationally and financially to pursue its growth agenda,” he added.
The company remains cautiously optimistic about the outlook in the second half of the year, given the volatile crude oil prices and the oversupply situation in the petrochemical market.
Sazali said the third quarter would see PCG undertaking heavy statutory turnaround activities at several of its plants as planned, coinciding with bearish market conditions.