By Emmanuel Samarathisa
NATIONAL oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) posted a 27% lower net profit of RM40.5 bil for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2019 (FY19), compared to RM55.3 bil last year.
Softer earnings came on the back of “lower revenue as well as net impairment on assets amounting to RM7.3 bil,” the company said in a Feb 26 statement. But “these were partially offset by lower tax expenses.”
Petronas registered RM240.3 bil in revenue for FY19 or 4% lower than RM251 bil the previous financial year, “mainly due to lower average realised prices for major products.”
The company said the drop was “partially offset by the impact of higher sales volume, mainly for petroleum products and LNG, coupled with the effect of the weakening of the ringgit against the US dollar exchange rate.”
Meanwhile, Petronas president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin told a press conference that the company would pay RM24 bil in dividends to the government this year.
Last year, Petronas declared a dividend of RM50 bil, which included an RM30 bil special dividend, to the government.
Moving forward, the company expects the outlook to “remain uncertain” this year with “headwinds from the impact of Covid-19, coupled with weaker-than-expected demand and an over-supplied market,” Wan Zulkiflee said. – Feb 26, 2020
