Petronas Dagangan upbeat on liquefied petroleum gas market

KUALA LUMPUR: The domestic marketing arm of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), Petronas Dagangan Bhd, which currently holds about 50% share of the domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) market, remains positive on the LPG industry in the country.
The group markets a wide range of petroleum products including motor gasoline, aviation fuel, kerosene, diesel, fuel oil, bunker fuel, lubricants, LPG as well as asphalt.
“We have positive outlook on the industry as it is still growing in Malaysia. We plan to grow naturally with the market, depending on the market growth,” its head of LPG business division Ramzulhakim Ramli told reporters at a media briefing today.
“The market growth last year was about 1.5%,” he added.
Ramzulhakim said the LPG market growth is usually determined by the country’s population growth, which is continuing to increase.
“So we see there is a growth in the market,” he said.
The group sells its LPG product under the brand name Gas Petronas. Gas Petronas is offered in 12kg and 14kg cylinders for domestic use and 50kg cylinders or bulk storage tank for commercial and industrial use.
In its 2015 annual report, the group said its LPG business in Malaysia contributed about 20% to its bottomline.
For the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2017, the group’s net profit more than tripled to RM761.73 million from RM248.76 million a year ago, thanks to a disposal gain of RM430.8 million.
Petronas Dagangan had previously announced its plans to exit the LPG business in the Philippines, with the disposal of its entire stake in Petronas Energy Philippines Inc and 40% stake in Duta Inc to Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc for RM560.5 million.
Following that, the group also sold its LPG bottling and distribution operations in Vietnam, a move in line with its portfolio rationalisation.