Petronas Chemicals 4Q net profit up 5.7% to RM932m, proposes RM1.52b dividends

KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd reported net profit of RM932 million in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011, an increase of 5.7% from the RM881 million a year ago.

It said on Thursday, May 26 that revenue rose 8.9% to RM4.353 billion from RM3.996 billion while earnings per share were 12 sen. It proposed dividend of 19 sen per share totaling RM1.52 billion.

“The increase was achieved on the back of higher realised prices across most petrochemical products. Overall, the group’s production volume was lower due to maintenance activities during the current quarter,” it said.

Petronas Chemicals said the group’s operating profit declined slightly by RM96 million due principally to costs incurred for maintenance activities in the current quarter. The impact of higher cost was however offset by lower tax expense and higher share of profits from associates and jointly controlled entities.

For the financial year ended March 31, its net profit increased by 36.1% to RM2.994 billion from RM2.199 billion. Revenue rose 19.5% to RM14.586 billion from RM12.203 billion supported by higher prices and volume addition contributed by its acquisitions, Optimal Chemicals (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and Optimal Glycols (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.

“The group achieved operating profit of RM3.7 billion, an increase of RM405 million (12%) from previous year.

“The group's results were further supported by the strong performance of BASF Petronas Chemicals Sdn. Bhd., which primarily contributed towards higher share of profits from associate and jointly controlled entities by RM533 million,” it said.

The group's EBITDA was at RM4.677 billion, up 23% or RM875 million from a year ago