Petronas profits jump; pays extra dividend

Chief executive officer Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said that was on top of the 3 billion ringgit dividend commitment this year following improved earnings.
“We have already approved the 3-billion-ringgit interim dividend to the government, which will be given out in stages,” he told reporters at Petronas’ mid-year result briefings.
The national oil company posted more than a fourfold jump in profit after tax to 7 billion ringgit from 1.7 billion ringgit a year ago.
Revenue for the quarter rose 10 per cent to 51.6 billion ringgit from 46.9 billion ringgit previously.
For the first half of 2017, the group’s revenue surged 15.4 per cent to 108.1 billion ringgit from 93.7 billion ringgit previously.
Its net profit for the first half soared 160 per cent to 17.3 ringgit from 6.4 billion ringgit in the same period last year.
In a statement, Petronas said the increase, however, was partially offset by higher amortisation of oil and gas properties, tax expenses, net foreign exchange losses and costs related to the non-final investment decision for the Pacific NorthWest LNG project in Canada.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were 45.2 billion ringgit, a 35-per-cent increase from the 33.6 billion ringgit recorded during the same half last year.
The group’s operating cashflow also increased by 55 per cent to 39.8 billion ringgit compared with 25.6 billion ringgit in the same period last year.