PETALING JAYA: Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PetDag) saw its net profit jump 23-fold to RM82.14mil for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021 from RM3.51mil in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

       The company has proposed an interim dividend of 10 sen per share.

       PetDag attributed its earnings growth to higher gross profit following favourable Means of Platts Singapore (MOPS) price trend as well as higher sales volume during the period.

       The increase was offset by higher operating expenditure mainly from higher advertising and promotion activities.

       During the quarter in review, PetDag’s revenue almost doubled to RM5.14bil from RM2.93bil in the previous corresponding quarter, as average selling prices and total sales volume increased 51% and 16%, respectively.

       PetDag Kedai Mesra

       For the six months to June 2021, PetDag’s net profit was RM273.25mil, compared with a net loss of RM25.91mil in the first half of 2020, while its revenue rose to RM10.25bil from RM9.49bil previously.

       The company said its cumulative revenue growth was due to higher average selling prices, which increased 15%. This was, however, marginally offset with a decrease in sales volume by 6%.

       The cumulative earnings were driven by higher gross profit following increasing MOPS prices trend during the period. The increase was further contributed by lower operating expenditure, mainly from lower purchased and professional services as well as advertising and promotion.

       PetDag said the ongoing pandemic remained a key risk to the group’s outlook for 2021 given the recent resurgence of new variant in Covid-19 cases as well as the re-implementation of total nationwide lockdown.

       “The opening of international borders remains uncertain despite the on-going vaccination programmes happening domestically and globally. The ramp up of the vaccination rate since end-May put Malaysia in good stead to reach herd immunity target, allowing the country to safely re-open the economy faster,” it said.

       PetDag said dated Brent continued its upward momentum supported by the continuing voluntary production cut by Opec+ and relaxation of restrictions will help to stimulate economic activities.

       “We will continue to monitor the market trend for growth opportunities by accelerating our targeted marketing campaign, whilst leveraging on strategic partnerships and digital platforms that can support our future-proof strategies to bring value-add to our customers,” it said.