KUALA LUMPUR – Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) registered a net profit of RM9.6 billion in the second quarter ended June 30, 2021 on better earnings and lower impairment compared to a net loss of RM21 billion a year ago.
Executive vice-president and group chief financial officer Liza Mustapha said the stronger earnings are in tandem with higher earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), and lower impairment losses in the period.
“Our continued efforts to preserve and strengthen liquidity have resulted in the delivery of a robust cash flow from operations of RM32.7 billion in the first half of the year. This provides healthy liquidity for the group’s capital investment,” she said during a virtual presentation of the company’s financial results for 1H today.
In Q2, EBITDA stood at RM23.2 billion, an increase of RM14.1 billion from the RM9.1 billion recorded a year ago, in line with higher revenue, but partially offset by higher product costs and operating expenditure.
Revenue for the quarter advanced 68% to RM57.1 billion from RM34 billion in the corresponding period last year, driven mainly by the favourable impact on prices of major products and a higher sales volume for liquified natural gas and petroleum products.
Petronas expects its capital expenditure for the financial year ending December 31, 2021 (FY2021) to close at RM39 billion to RM40 billion compared with RM33 billion in the previous financial year.
Liza said the group is looking to allocate investments that are able to yield faster returns.
“Most investments have a grace period before the cash starts coming in,” she told the press after announcing the national oil giant’s financial performance.
The firm has invested RM12.7 billion in 1H, attributed mainly to upstream projects, versus RM14.8 billion in the same period a year earlier.
It announced an additional RM7 billion dividend to the government, making for a total contribution of RM25 billion for FY2021 from the previously approved RM18 billion. – Bernama, August 27, 2021
