Dennis Uy-led Phoenix Petroleum posted a Php121 million net income in the first quarter of the year, reversing a Php386.3 million loss in the same period last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns were declared.
Phoenix likewise reported that its overall volume went up 43% year-on-year due to higher sales of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) products and the strong rebound in its commercial and business-to-business segments among other factors.
LPG cylinder volume particularly went up by 15% nationwide, with Luzon and Visayas posting growths of 53% and 11%, respectively. However, sales to the lower margin LPG segments were pulled back, causing a 13% decline in total LPG volume.
Operating expense (opex) went down 16% year-on-year, while opex per liter was reduced by 42% due to the company’s capital light strategy implemented before the pandemic. Under the strategy, Phoenix’s network of gas stations grew to 676 as of March. It also launched an integrated franchising program late last year to offer multiple businesses in one site, such as the Phoenix Block along Sucat Road in Paranaque City.
Phoenix also said that its market share rose to 7.1% at the end of 2020 from 6.9% in the first half. Data from the Department of Energy released in October 2020 revealed that Phoenix edged out longtime third placer Chevron to become part of the country’s “Big 3” oil players.
“We are proud to grow our market share even in the most difficult times. We are grateful and inspired by the whole team for their hardworking and dedication, our customers who continue to trust in the brand, and out business partners who supported us in the true spirit of Bayanihan. Our aspirations for growth have not changed and this crisis has only made us leaner, more focused, and stronger as a company,” Phoenix President Henry Albert Fadullon said in a statement.
