By Chester Tay

Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd.'s second-quarter net profit slid 83% from a year earlier, dragged by compressed margins arising from lower product prices, due to low crude prices and softer demand after an OPEC+ falling out earlier in the year and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Net profit plunged to 186 million ringgit ($44.5 million), while revenue fell 27% to MYR3.18 billion, the petrochemical company said Wednesday.

The group's net profit for the first half fell 64% to MYR692 million, while revenue declined 17% to MYR7.07 billion.

Petronas Chemicals said the ongoing pandemic continues to adversely affect the global economy and the group hasn't been spared.

The group expects the olefins and derivatives businesses to see product prices recover toward the end of the year as downstream demand continues to improve from the easing of lockdowns. However, Petronas Chemicals doesn't expect product prices this year to reach 2019 levels.

For its fertilizers and methanol businesses, the company anticipates product prices to remain stable toward year-end, as fertilizer demand has been less affected by Covid-19 due to the planting season, while methanol demand is likely to improve with crude oil price recovery. 



  Write to Chester Tay at chester.tay@wsj.com