Malaysian energy giant Petronas reported a leap in profit for the FY2017 and the fourth quarter of the year.
The company’s profit after tax (PAT) for the year rose 91 percent to 45.5 billion Malaysian ringgit ($11.6 billion), from 23.8 billion Malaysian ringgit reported in 2016.
The increase came on the back of higher revenue, lower net impairment on assets, the company said, adding that the revenue rose 15 percent to 223.6 billion Malaysian ringgit for the year.
The upward trend of key benchmark prices boosted Petronas’ fourth-quarter results with the PAT rising 61 percent to 18.2 billion Malaysian ringgit.
Revenue rose 14 percent to 61.8 billion Malaysian ringgit due to higher average realized prices recorded for major products and higher sales volume mainly from LNG.
Speaking of the results, Petronas president and CEO Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin , said the results have placed the company in a good position to begin its pursuit of a growth agenda.
He added that the company’s gas business grew during the year. Petronas shipped 443 LNG cargoes in the year, the highest in the company’s history. PFLNG Satu delivered a total of five LNG cargoes during the period under review.
Going forward, the company plans to expand its core oil and gas business by growing the resource base and venture into new business areas focusing its growth in “geographically strategic regions like ASEAN, the Indian sub-continent, the Middle East and the Americas.”