KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — 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 in the same quarter last year.
Petronas executive vice-president and group chief financial officer Liza Mustapha said the stronger earnings recorded in the quarter were in tandem with higher earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) and lower impairment loss recorded in the period.
“Our continued efforts to preserve and strengthen liquidity have resulted in the delivery of a robust cashflow 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 her presentation of the group’s financial results for the first half of the year held virtually today.
In the second quarter, EBITDA stood at RM23.2 billion, an increase of RM14.1 billion from RM9.1 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2020, in line with higher revenue but partially offset by higher product costs and operating expenditure.
Revenue for the quarter advanced 68 per cent to RM57.1 billion, from RM34 billion in the corresponding quarter last year, mainly driven by the favourable impact on prices of major products and a higher sales volume for LNG and petroleum products.
For the first half of 2021, Petronas’ net profit rallied more than 100 per cent to RM18.9 billion compared to the net loss of RM16.5 billion in the corresponding period last year, in tandem with higher EBITDA and lower impairment loss following an upward trend in prices.
EBITDA stood at RM46.1 billion, a jump of 57 per cent from RM29.4 billion, mainly attributable to higher revenue, coupled with lower operating expenditure.
Revenue for the period expanded 17 per cent to RM109.6 billion, from RM93.6 billion in the first half of 2020, mainly attributed to favourable average realised prices for major products and higher sales volume impact, mainly on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and gas sales.
Cashflows from operating activities as of June 30, 2021 increased by 24 per cent to RM32.7 billion from RM26.3 billion previously, mainly due to higher cash operating profits.
Petronas’ total assets strengthened to RM609.1 billion in the first half of the year compared to RM574.1 billion as of Dec 31, 2020, mainly contributed by higher cash and fund investments as well as receivables.
Shareholders’ equity increased to RM331.1 billion compared to RM330.6 billion as at Dec 31, 2020, mainly attributable to profit recorded during the period.
As for Petronas’ upstream business, the division’s total daily production averaged 2.345 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day recorded in the first half of this year, higher than the 2.255 million boe per day recorded in the previous corresponding period.
Liza said this was mainly driven by higher gas production due to higher demand, both in domestic and international operations.
The downstream business recorded stable operations in the first half of 2021, with overall equipment effectiveness recording 93.1 per cent, similar to the same period last year, on strong plant reliability despite the movement control order restrictions.
In the first six months of the year, Petronas successfully delivered over 11,790 LNG cargoes from the Petronas LNG Complex (PLC) in Bintulu. The group has also secured LNG sales of 3.17 million tonnes per annum. — Bernama
