Malaysia's Petronas Q3 profit jumps 20 per cent

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian state energy firm Petronas said Tuesday its third-quarter net profit rebounded, rising 19.5 per cent year-on-year due to higher sales of crude oil and other products.

Net profit for the three months ending September 30 stood at 17.19 billion ringgit ($5.36 billion) compared to 14.38 billion ringgit in the same quarter last year. Net profit had fallen in the first two quarters.

Revenue for the third quarter was up 19.2 per cent to 81.4 billion ringgit compared to 68.33 billion ringgit last year, said the company, Malaysia's only representative in the Fortune 500.

The increase in revenue was driven by higher sales of crude oil, processed gas and other products on the back of stronger customer demand, together with the effect of the strengthening of the dollar against the ringgit.

So far this year, Petronas' profit has grown 4.1 per cent to 52.82 billion ringgit, while revenue has increased 8.5 per cent to 232.5 billion ringgit year-on-year.

"The board expects the overall year-end performance of Petronas Group to be satisfactory", the company said in its financial report.

Petronas contributes nearly half of Malaysia's budget revenue.Malaysia's Petronas Q3 profit jumps 20 per cent