FARAH ADILLA
KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) says it will pay RM24 billion dividend to the government this year.
Petronas president and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said there was no plan for a special dividend payment to the government this year.
“No plans (for special dividend),” Wan Zulkiflee said at the national oil company’s briefing on its financial year 2019 performance here today.
Last year, Petronas paid a total of RM54 billion dividends to the government, comprising RM24 billion in normal dividend and RM30 billion in special dividend.
The additional RM30 billion was to help the government settle refunds of RM37 billion in Goods and Services Tax and income tax.
Petronas’ net profit dropped 27 per cent to RM40.5 billion for the year ended December 31, 2019 from RM55.3 billion recorded in 2018.
This was primarily due to lower revenue as well as net impairment on assets amounting to RM7.3 billion.
Its revenue slipped four per cent to RM240.3 billion from RM251.0 billion in 2018, mainly due to lower average realised prices for major products.
This was partially offset by the impact of higher sales volume, mainly for petroleum products and liquefied natural gas (LNG) coupled with the effect of the weakening of the ringgit against the US dollar.
“The year remained difficult as the industry continued to be marred by consistent and prolonnged volatility.
“Against this challenging landscape, Petronas had shown strong resiliency through its operational and financial performance for 2019.
“Our progress and achievements in pursuing our three-pronged strategy demonstrate our perseverance and robustness as an integrated energy company,” Wan Zulkiflee said.
For the fourth quarter (Q4), the group’s net profit stood at RM4.1 billion, down 71 per cent from RM14.3 billion, primarily due to impairment on assets and lower revenue.
Revenue in Q4 was eight per cent lower to RM64 billion from RM69.9 billion, due to lower average realised prices for major products.
Capital expenditure (capex) for Q4 2019 amounted to RM18.8 billion, attributed to upstream, gas and new energy, and downstream projects.
Capex for the year stood at RM47.8 billion.
Wan Zulkiflee said it was business as usual for Pertronas in light of the uncertainty surrounding Malaysia’s political scene.
“We remains focused on our efforts in addressing volatily to drive business forward,” he added.
The group expects a challenging operating environment in 2020 given the ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, prolonged trade tension and near-term demand disruptions due to Covid-19 outbreak.
Meanwhile, Wan Zulkiflee said the group was allocating RM50 billion capex this year, based on the assumption of oil price at US$50 per barrel.
Last year, oil price averaged at US$71 per barrel.
He said domestically, the group was allocating between RM26 billion and RM28 billion capex, and three per cent of total capex for gas and new energy business.
Petronas’ net cash position as at December 31, 2019 stood at RM81.6 billion.