Petgas retains optimism, garners higher revenue
Asset utilisation improves in line with economic recovery
More positively, Petgas reported that net profit for the quarter ended Sept 30 was up 6.7% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) from Rm415.5mil recorded for the quarter ended June 30.
PETALING JAYA: PETRONAS Gas Bhd (Petgas) is expecting gas and utilities demand to improve moving forward as the country continues its transition into the endemic phase for Covid 19, as asset utilisation improves in line with economic recovery.
The company anticipates that its performance will remain steadfast, underpinned by long-term contracts which ensure steady revenue streams, particularly for its gas processing, gas transportation and regasification business segments.
In its quarterly performance filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Petgas revealed its net profit for its third fiscal quarter ended Sept 30 has slid 28.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) to Rm443.3mil from Rm619mil of the corresponding quarter of 2021.
The company attributed this due to lower contribution from all segments following higher operating costs, mainly relating to fuel gas and internal gas consumption costs, coupled with the impact of unfavourable foreign exchange movement.
Revenue however rose 9.6% y-o-y to Rm1.56bil, which Petgas said was mainly contributed by higher revenue from the utilities segment as a result of higher product prices, in tandem with higher fuel gas prices.
Cumulatively, the tune was similar as net profit for the nine months ended Sept 30 was 20.1% lower at Rm1.3bil, compared to the Rm1.62bil it recorded for the first nine months of 2021.
Petgas said this was a result of tighter margins recorded by the utilities segment due to higher fuel gas costs as well as lower contribution from the regasification and gas transportation segments.
Turnover, meanwhile, was up 9% to Rm4.53bil for the three quarters ended Sept 20 this year as compared to the same period of 2021.
More positively, Petgas reported that net profit for the quarter ended Sept 30 was up 6.7% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) from Rm415.5mil recorded for the quarter ended June 30.
This was driven by higher revenue from its utilities segment, particularly higher contributions from steam and industrial gases product sales, coupled with favourable impact from contract renewals.
Revenue also rose q-o-q to by 4% from Rm1.5bil three months earlier.
Earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter dropped 26.7% y-o-y to 21.52 sen for the quarter ended Sept 30, while cumulatively for the first nine months of 2022, EPS fell 19.7% to 62.31 sen.
Petgas said it has renewed several longterm utilities’ contracts during the quarter in review, which improved margins for its utilities segment and consequently mitigated in part the adverse impact of higher fuel gas costs.
“Nevertheless, the rise in Malaysia reference price, the further weakening trend of ringgit against the US dollar and the imposition of the prosperity tax will continue to impact overall performance,” it said.