Pryce Corporation reported a 19 percent growth in consolidated net income to P1.45 billion in the first three quarters of 2021 from the P1.22 billion earned during the same period last year.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said gross revenue increased by 24 percent to P11.18 billion in the first nine months of this year from P8.99 billion of the same period in 2020.
Sales of LPG and its related products (LPG revenues) accounted for 92 percent of gross revenue, while sales of industrial gas products contributed 7 percent. Real estate sales and pharmaceutical sales covered the balance.
The growth in gross revenue was largely due to the 20 percent growth in LPG revenues from P8.53 billion to P10.26 billion.
This revenue growth was driven by a combination of the rise in international LPG contract price (CP) and the increase in sales volume of LPG cooking gas. The average CP rose 65 percent, from $351.67 per metric ton in 2020 to $579.89 per MT in 2021.
Despite this, sales volume of LPG cooking gas increased by 16 percent from 178,052 metric tons to 206,618 metric tons.
“It is noteworthy to mention that the above-said 7 percent contribution of the industrial gas business to consolidated revenues was higher than the usual 4 percent. This is because of the escalation in demand for medical oxygen due to the pandemic, the sales of which accounted for 71 percent of total industrial gas revenue,” Pryce said.
Operating expenses rose 39 percent to P1.32 billion from P949.57 million due mainly to the company’s continuing expansion of its LPG refilling plants and sales centers.
This expansion program is meant to widen the availability of the PryceGas brand and to penetrate the LPG retail market more deeply.
The company is currently constructing two LPG marine terminals: one in Lugait, Misamis Oriental and another in Lila, Bohol. The one in Lugait will be completed by December 2022.