PRYCE Corp. said its net income grew 46 percent during the first half of the year, mainly on strong sales of cooking gas.
The company said in a statement its income reached P433.28 million during the first six months of the year, up from P297.08 million last year.
Pryce Corp. said it expects demand for its products to rise during the second half of the year, in the last quarter in particular.
“Taking this into account, management is confident the group remains on track to achieve its target full-year net income of P900 million ‘plus or minus 10 percent,’” it said.
Revenues for the period rose 11 percent to P3.04 billion, from last year’s P2.72 billion, after the strong sales of its main product, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which accounted for more than 90 percent of its sales.
The remaining revenues were from sales of industrial gases, real estate, pharmaceutical products and hotel operations.
LPG volume sales rose 27 percent to 86,342 metric tons, which the company said “substantially exceeds industry growth.”
Strong volume sales enabled the company to maintain its revenue growth despite an average of 12-percent decrease in unit selling price of LPG to P31,289 per metric ton (MT) from P35,644 per MT in the first half of 2015, it said.
“This follows the trend of falling fuel prices that had been ongoing since 2014. It is management’s opinion that prices will hover at relatively low levels for some time to come given the recently completed expansion of the Panama Canal. This expansion will allow the transport of products, including fuel, from the United States to Asia at more competitive prices and curb the influence of Middle Eastern countries on fuel pricing, including the pricing of LPG,” the company said.
The company’s net income for the period represents a 14.2-percent return on sales from last year’s 10.9 percent, indicating an increased efficiency in generating profit from sales.