Petronas Gas' Net Profit Fell 9.7% in Second Quarter

By Ronnie Harui

Petronas Gas Bhd.'s second-quarter net profit fell 9.7% from a year earlier partly due to the tighter margins at its utilities segment following higher fuel gas costs.

Second-quarter net profit declined to 396.5 million Malaysian ringgit ($88.7 million), the company said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Friday, while revenue rose 8.7% on year to MYR1.50 billion.

For the first half of 2022, its net profit declined to MYR807.1 million from MYR955.5 million a year earlier, the company said. First-half revenue rose to MYR2.96 billion from MYR2.72 billion a year ago.

Looking ahead, gas and utilities demand is expected to improve as Malaysia is transitioning into an endemic phase of Covid-19 and the company expects assets utilization to improve in line with the economic recovery, Petronas Gas said. Nevertheless, factors including the weakening trend for the Malaysian ringgit against the U.S. dollar and the Malaysian government's imposition of a one-off 'Prosperity Tax' on companies could further hurt the company's overall performance, it said.

Write to Ronnie Harui at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-26-22 0255ET