PETALING JAYA: Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd’s net profit quadrupled to RM48.48mil in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2021, from RM12.02mil a year earlier, thanks to the spike in global crude oil prices and cost management initiatives.
Its revenue for the quarter surged 50% to RM284.4mil compared to RM190.29mil previously.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Hibiscus said the group sold a total of 843,598 barrels of crude oil in the second quarter of FY22.
It added that the group managed to achieve a gross profit margin and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) margin of 75.6% and 57.2%, respectively.
Hibiscus declared a final single-tier dividend of one sen per share. Shares in Hibiscus closed slightly lower at RM1.14 per share. On a year-to-date basis, its share price has risen almost 40%.
Cumulatively, for the first half of FY22, Hibiscus’s net profit surged more than fourfold to RM90.0mil from RM22.05mil a year ago, on the back of 58% jump in revenue to RM531.09mil compared to RM335.78mil previously.
Moving forward, Hibiscus said that the group is expecting its daily production rate to triple to 23,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) from 8,000 presently, with its recent acquisition of the Repsol assets in Malaysia and Vietnam.
“Going forward, we expect to produce approximately 2.5 million boe of oil and gas for the period between completion and the end of FY22 from the recently acquired assets, on top of our North Sabah and Anasuria production.
“At current oil and gas prices, these additional volumes are going to substantially and favourably impact our financial performance going forward,” Hibiscus said.
The group noted that it will continue with its expansion plan that is to increase its production to 35,000-50,000 boe per day and 2P reserves of 100 millions boe by 2026.
“The group will continue to apply its current core competence to maximise the generation of cash in the near term against a backdrop of strong oil prices, whilst also recognising that clean energy players will likely have a role to play during the energy transition,” it said.
Hibiscus pointed out that it aspires to become a Net Zero Emissions producer by 2050, in line with the government’s aspiration to reach Carbon Neutrality as early as 2050.
As such, Hibiscus said the group is aiming to expand its operation into the gas segment.
“Over the next five years, our strategy will include fortifying the resilience of our portfolio of hydrocarbon assets, decarbonising our upstream operations, and investing in green or clean energy opportunities.
“The resilience of our portfolio of assets may be enhanced by increasing our gas reserves and resources, as we believe gas has a critical role in the energy transition,” it said.