PILIPINAS SHELL Petroleum Corp. said its net income rose 39%   in 2017, it told the stock exchange on Monday, citing strong growth in retail volume and regional refining margins as well as gains in inventory holdings.

In a statement, Pilipinas Shell said its full-year profit jumped to P10.4-billion profit from the P7.4 billion recorded in 2016, fueled by robust retail volume growth, strong regional refining margins, and inventory holding gains.

This despite increased competition and the two-and-a-half-month planned preventive maintenance shutdown of its Tabangao refinery.

Cesar G. Romero, Pilipinas Shell president and chief executive officer, said the company generated P10.7 billion of cash from operations, higher by 26% year on year.

“This is a testament to the company’s commitment and continuing focus towards robust cash generation at optimal returns. This should allow us to sustain our commitment to high dividend payout at industry-leading dividend yields,” he said in a statement.

Pilipinas Shell reported retail sales volume increased by 4% because of high premium fuel penetration at 27%. The uptake of its V-Power Diesel and V-Power Gasoline rose by 17% and 7%, respectively.

A total of 66 retail stations were opened last year, bringing the total to 1,044 by yearend.

On the other hand, non-fuels retail business rose by 15% as convenience retail recorded “high double-digit growth,” the company said. Pilipinas Shell opened 37 Shell Select and 22 Deli2Go stores last year. The retail lubricants business also expanded as 35 lube bays were opened.

As of end-2017, the company had 102 Shell Select, 41 Deli2Go stores and 262 lube bays.

The company said the completion of the preventive maintenance in the Tabangao refinery in Batangas City and freight optimization through its North Mindanao Import Facility (NMIF) further strengthened its integrated supply chain.

It said the refinery’s continued operations after the maintenance shutdown captured the strong refining margins while the NMIF accounted for savings of more than 50% above initial estimates.

Mr. Romero also announced a P5.14 cash dividend per share, saying this “represents a superior dividend yield of close to 9% based on the share price at the time of our dividend announcement.”

On Monday, shares in Pilipinas Shell rose 1.75% to close at P60.95 each. — Victor V. Saulon

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