Petronas increases quarterly profit by 2.4 times due to higher oil prices

Malaysia’s state energy company Petronas has reported a surge in second-quarter profit, boosted by higher oil and gas prices and said that it would double its dividend to the government this year, Report informs referring to Reuters.

The world’s fourth-biggest LNG exporter said profit for the April-June period totalled 23 billion ringgit ($5.13 billion), compared with 9.6 billion ringgit profit in the same quarter last year.

Revenue rose 63% to 93.3 billion ringgit.

Petronas will pay the Malaysian government, its sole shareholder, a total of 50 billion ringgit ($11.16 billion)in a dividend this year, president and group CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik said at a media briefing.

The company was earlier expected to pay 25 billion ringgit - the same as last year - but the government made a request for a higher amount, he said.

Petronas is a significant source of revenue for the Malaysian government, which is grappling with higher expenses this year for subsidies and cash aid payments to offset inflation.

The government has said it expects to spend a record $18 billion in subsidies for fuel and cooking oil amid surging commodity prices.