Listed firm Shell Pilipinas Corporation (SPC) was able to rebound from a net loss in the first quarter but overall net income in the first half remained anemic at P123 million due to incessantly escalating oil prices and the crippling higher interest rate.

If reckoned on core earnings, however, that stood at P1.4 billion, improving the company’s financial books that could still point to a strong finish this year.

SPC President and Chief Executive Officer Lorelie Quiambao-Osial indicated that the company’s onward focus shall be on “performance, financial discipline and simplification” across its business processes.

“We are committed to delivering value to our customers, to our shareholders, and to our staff and business partners. This includes our commitment to deliver shareholder returns,” she stressed, adding that “through our Powering Progress strategy, we will keep moving the Philippines forward.”

From the initial rebound that the company had already achieved in the second quarter, Osial asserted that “we have built momentum and we will finish strong in 2023 with exceptional customer experience and continued innovation in serving our growing customer base with world-class Shell products and services.”

Volume sales growth of nine percent had been a major driver in the firm’s financial richochet and that was underpinned by the robust performance of its non-fuel retail (NFR) business segment.

It emphasized that its non-fuel ventures “posted a double-digit growth of 14-percent from last year and is 33-percent higher than the pre-pandemic period.”

The company’s mobility stations performed well within the period, and its premium fuel “Shell Power V” was still widely patronized by its customers.

That growth in sales at the gas stations had likewise been reinforced by strong demand on its other product offerings, primarily lubricants and bitumen.

On its retail network buildup, Shell reported that it opened seven new sites within the second quarter, doubling the number of new stations that it brought to commercial operations within the year.

The business-to-business (B2B) sphere of its market had been equally thriving and this precipitated 10-percent upturn on its sales volume to commercial customers.

The aviation sector emerged as the “star performer” with 39-percent sales uptick which Shell noted to have been triple vis-à-vis the demand of commercial road transport.

For lubricants, volume sales expanded at a modest pace of five percent, spurred primarily by the launch of new products as well as the introduction of innovative e-commerce solutions which enabled the company to corner more key accounts.