Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. said on Friday that it plans to focus on its retail and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) businesses to ramp up growth over the next five years.
“To drive our growth, we will focus on our higher margin, higher growth businesses like retail and LPG. For LPG, we will be focusing our investments on higher margin SKUs (stock keeping units)…particularly cylinders (for household use),” Henry Albert R. Fadullon, president and chief operating officer of Phoenix Petroleum, said during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Friday.
He made the statement when asked how Phoenix Petroleum plans to sustain its growth in the next five years.
Mr. Fadullon said the company is also looking at leveraging its partnerships and joint ventures to fast-track its “capital-light” strategy, and continuing to grow its brand through franchising.
“More importantly, we will leverage on technology, particularly to drive our push into e-commerce, which will allow us to bring our offers closer, faster, easier to the customer,” he said.
Asked about first quarter financial performance, Mr. Fadullon said the company was “doing better” on a consolidated basis year-on-year since its overseas affiliates have been delivering a “very strong” performance.
He said April’s financial performance may be “very close to pre-COVID (levels), if not pre-COVID levels, already.”
Mr. Fadullon said the company is confident and hopeful, but cautious, as it will be “very selective” in embarking on new activities and in deploying its resources, particularly its capital and operating expenditures.
Phoenix Petroleum’s net income attributable to parents of the equity holder plunged 93% to P102 million in 2020, from P1.48 billion in 2019, as economic activity was hampered due to the pandemic.
Shares of Phoenix Petroleum edged up 0.98% or 12 centavos to close at P12.32 apiece on Friday. — A.Y.Yang
