Malaysia's Petronas Q1 profit doubles but warns demand recovery uncertain

[KUALA LUMPUR] Petronas's first-quarter profit more than doubled on the back of recovering commodity prices, but the Malaysian state oil firm cautioned demand prospects hinged on vaccines preventing a resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Petronas said on Monday it made a post-tax profit of RM9.3 billion ringgit (S$2.98 billion) in January-March, against RM4.5 billion in the same quarter last year, also attributed to lower overall costs.

Revenue fell 12 per cent to RM52.5 billion due to lower sales volume of petroleum products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and natural gas.

The world's fourth-biggest LNG exporter said its capital investments amounted to RM6.7 billion.

"Oil and gas industry demand is expected to improve following the global vaccine roll out programme but recovery prospects remain uncertain due to risk of Covid-19 resurgence," the firm said in a statement.

Petronas, the sole manager of Malaysia's energy reserves, said it would continue to diversify its portfolio, including in non-fuel and speciality chemicals businesses.

It added its downstream business, Petronas Dagangan, launched Segar@Mesra earlier this year, a platform that sells farm produce directly to consumers via its petrol stations.

REUTERS