PRYCE Corp. reported a 25.8% increase in consolidated net income to P895.57 million during the first six months of 2019, despite the single-digit growth in the sales of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which accounts for the bulk of its revenues.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the company said consolidated revenues during the period grew by 10.08% to P5.32 billion from P4.83 billion. The sale of LPG and LPG-related products accounted for nearly 94% of revenues, while sale of industrial gases, real estate, and pharmaceutical products accounted for the rest.
With its performance in the first half, the company said it was “cautiously optimistic” of achieving its target income of P1.6 billion “plus or minus 10%” for 2019.
“In the previous years, the company enjoyed income tax holidays with respect to its import terminal in San Fabian, Pangasinan but these expired last December 31, 2018; hence it will have an adverse impact on net income in the succeeding years,” Pryce said.
In the first half, LPG sales volume, including bulk sales, rose by 7.8% to 106,049 metric tons (MT) from 98,419 MT.
Pryce said on a regional basis, LPG sales volume increased by 5.4% in the Visayas-Mindanao region and 9.6% in Luzon. It said the average LPG contract price, which affects LPG consumer behavior, dropped by about 7% to $479 per MT from last year’s $515 per MT.
Revenues from the other products, including industrial gases, real estate, and pharmaceutical products, accounted for P320.55 million in the first half. The figure is lower by 22.4% than the previous year’s P412.98 million “due to the sale of office condominium units in Davao.”
Excluding condominium sales, revenue from other businesses would have been higher by 9.41% over 2018, it said.
“The contributions to consolidated revenue of the company’s products in 2019 in terms of percentages are as follows: LPG and related products — 93.97%; industrial gas — 4.14%; real estate — 1.42%; and pharmaceutical — 0.47%,” Pryce said.
After adjustments for other income and expenses and provision for income tax, net income after tax grew by 25.8% to P895.57 million from P711.89 million. Earnings per share improved by 27.4% to P0.4115 from P0.3229 previously.
On Tuesday, shares in Pryce rose by 0.40% to close at P5.08 each. — Victor V. Saulon
