Petronas Dagangan registers volume growth in 4Q
KUALA LUMPUR: For the quarter ended December 31, 2018, Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PDB) registered an increase of one per cent in sales volume against corresponding quarter last year, continuing on its growth trajectory since second quarter 2018.
In line with higher sales volume and increase in average selling prices, revenue for the quarter rose by 10 per cent to RM7,901.4 million against the corresponding quarter in the preceding year.
However, due to the significant decline in petroleum product prices in November and December 2018, PDB’s Profit Before Tax (PBT) decreased to RM70.1 million as compared to the corresponding quarter in the preceding year.
PDB’s managing director and chief executive officer, Datuk Sri Syed Zainal Abidin said, “The fourth quarter was challenging as crude oil and petroleum product prices began to decline sharply, affecting PDB’s overall profitability.
“We managed to minimise the impact by pushing for sales volume growth while focusing on our inventory management, supply and distribution efficiency as well as operating expenditure optimisation.”
Overall, for the financial year ended December 31, 2018, PDB’s revenue increased by 10 per cent to RM30.068 billion against the corresponding year. For the same period, PBT decreased by 18.1 per cent to RM1.117 billion due to the significant decline in MOPS price trend experienced in the fourth quarter, resulting in lower gross profit.
The financial year also saw PDB growing its volume in its petail, LPG and lubricant businesses.
For the full year period, retail business recorded a 0.5 per cent increase in sales volume, backed by impactful marketing campaigns and enhanced customer experience, while gross profit decreased by 2.1 per cent mainly due to decline in petroleum product prices in the fourth quarter of 2018.
LPG business registered a 1.2 per cent increase in sales volume, however gross profit declined by 23.3 per cent due to higher product cost. Lubricant business increased its sales volume by 0.3 per cent while gross profit declined by two per cent.
Commercial business registered a decline in both sales volume and gross profit by 1.2 and 4.5 per cent respectively due to lower volume registered for diesel as customers shifted to Retail segment, as well as lower demand for Jet A-1 due to fuel efficient aircrafts and efficiency measures undertaken by the airline companies. — Bernama