KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas Dagangan Bhd’s (PDB) net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 fell 45.06% to RM172.75 million from RM314.42 million a year ago due to lower gross profit coupled with higher operating expenditure and lower other income.
Its revenue for the quarter increased by 5% to RM7.61 billion from RM7.28 billion. PDB boosted overall sales volume by 8% against the corresponding quarter last year. It declared an interim dividend of 14 sen per share for the quarter.
For the six months period, its net profit dropped 12.94% year-on-year to RM463.95 million from RM532.90 million, while revenue was up 2.40% to RM14.69 million versus RM14.35 million in the previous year.
Managing director and CEO Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohd Tahir said amidst a challenging market environment, it has continued to boost its overall sales volume and this is strong testament to the effectiveness of its business strategies and the quality of its products.
He said mogas volume alone increased by 6% quarter-on-quarter and this reflects the confidence for its new fuel, Petronas Primax 95 with Pro-drive, since launched in January this year.
“Nevertheless, we are cognisant of the impact that the continued volatility of oil price, economic condition and consumers’ sentiment will have on PDB’s overall profitability, and growing our volume will remain our key strategic focus,” he said in a statement.
Syed Zainal anticipated that the market will remain challenging but will continue to push for volume growth through leveraging its newly launched fuel and lubricants, its extensive supply and distribution chain as well as vast network of stations and partners.
“Over and above this, we remain committed to increase profitability by leveraging strategic partnerships to grow our non-fuel offerings. We will continue to increase station throughput by providing seamless and frictionless customer experience through our digital innovation,” Syed Zainal said.
