Petron Corporation’s sales volume and revenue may have improved in the third quarter due to the easing of quarantine restrictions, but this was not enough to outweigh the overall effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the oil giant said that its net loss stood at Php12.6 billion from January to September 2020 compared to the Php3.6 billion net income it had in the same period in 2019.
Petron’s net loss shrank from Php14.2 billion at the end of the first half due to the Php1.63 billion net income it posted from July to September.
This comes as combined retail volume in the Philippines and Malaysia from July to September jumped 48.6% from the second quarter. Philippine volume particularly increased by 33% with most stations in the country operating under normal hours since August.
“While the oil industry continues to face major challenges, we are beginning to see signs of recovery thanks to our government’s decision to gradually and safely restart the economy. Aside from retail, we can also expect the reopening of local tourism to influence higher demand for aviation fuel which really took a hit because of the pandemic,” said Petron President and CEO Ramon Ang.
With the economy beginning to recover, Ang is still hopeful that Petron would be able to work things out with the government regarding its taxation issues over the Bataan refinery. Ang recently said that the company will close the country’s last refinery standing “very soon.”
“Under the current regime, refiners are faced with the burden of paying so much more taxes than importers making it more difficult for us to preserve the viability of operating a refinery in the country. Of course, we want to keep our refinery running and hopefully with the government’s support, we will be able to do this more efficiently,” Ang stressed.