Uptrend in sales had propelled 16% income escalation for leading oil firm Petron Corporation to P9.5 billion within this year’s January to September stretch versus a leaner bottom line outcome of P8.2 billion within a comparative period last year.

The company emphasized that its “strong volume growth”; similarly enabled it to report remarkable 64% rise in operating income to P27 billion as against P16.5 billion a year ago.

“This improvement allowed the company to absorb the more than 50% increase in financing cost,” the oil firm conveyed further.

Petron President and CEO Ramon S. Ang indicated that the oil firm has been “seeing consistent growth in all areas of our business,” adding that “our wide reach, superior product quality, and reliable service have allowed us to sustain our good performance throughout the year, and maintain or even strengthen our market share in high-demand sectors.”

He further stressed “we have been a companion on countless journeys, big and small. From powering industries to supporting the daily needs of our kababayan, Petron has always been there. We have stood strong as the industry leader, creating opportunities for success defined by our value of malasakit.”

On the sales front, the oil company registered volume leap of 16% to 93.6 million barrels within this year’s first three quarters compared to 80.4 million barrels in 2022.

“Volume improvements were noted across major business segments, attesting to Petron’s continued market leadership and competitiveness,” the oil firm specified.

There was a downswing in overall revenues for the company at P587.3 billion from heftier P631.1 billion last year, although that had been mainly traced to ‘price correction’ happening in global oil markets – diverging from the “extraordinarily elevated levels” when the Russia-Ukraine war exploded in 2022.

“While international prices started to rise again in the third quarter, the year-to-date September average of benchmark Dubai crude closed at almost $82 per barrel, still down 18% from the same period in 2022,” the oil firm explained.

Petron qualified that in the retail segment, consolidated sales both in the Philippines and offshore market of Malaysia registered 8.0% climb, and that was mainly shored up by higher demand for gasoline and diesel products.

Demand in the aviation sub-segment was similarly robust, with the company posting double-digit sales volume jump of 12% - primarily due to sales agreements that had been locked in; while at the same time renewing deals with major airlines and aviation-partners.

For the Philippine market, in particular, the company’s sales volume similarly expanded by remarkable 20% to 42.7 million barrels vis-à-vis 35.5 million barrels in the prior year.