Kuala Lumpur, 20 August 2018 – PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad (PDB) posted a 38% increase in Profit Before Tax to RM424.3 million for the quarter ended 30 June 2018, as compared to the corresponding quarter last year. The increase is due to higher margin contributed by both Retail and Commercial segments as well as higher other income.

Revenue for the quarter stood at RM7,278.0 million, an increase of 10% or RM661.6 million as a result of increase in average selling price by 10%.

As compared to the corresponding quarter last year, Retail business recorded a 25.5% increase in gross profit in line with uptrend of Means of Platts Singapore price as well as lower product cost and freight charges. Comparing to the quarter ended 31 March 2018, Retail business registered a 4% increase in sales volume, higher than market average.

Against the corresponding quarter last year, LPG business also maintained growth in both gross profit and volume at 3.3% and 0.5% respectively, further cementing its market leadership position. For the same period, Commercial business registered a marginal decrease of 0.5% in gross profit, due to higher purchase price and lower sales volume for Jet-A1, following usage of more fuel-efficient aircrafts.

Amidst a highly competitive market, its Lubricant business registered a 15.2% growth in gross profit and increased its volume by 2.7%, following enhanced product mix and more competitive pricing.

PDB's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dato' Sri Syed Zainal Abidin said, "PDB continues to register growth in our profit from our continuous effort in boosting sales volume while ensuring cost optimisation and operational efficiency, supported by favourable market condition."

"Moving forward, we will continue our efforts to defend our market leadership position in both Commercial and LPG segment. For Retail business we are focused on innovating our strategies to reinvent the fuel retailing business through smarter collaborations and digital transformation in delivering superior customer experience. We will also be focusing on growing our non-fuel business," he added.