KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian state energy firm Petronas said on Thursday its second-quarter net profit increased 54.3 percent from the year-earlier period, boosted by higher crude oil prices.
Petronas said in a statement that its profit for the three months ending September 30 was 18.35 billion ringgit ($5.84 billion), up from 11.89 billion ringgit in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the company, Malaysia's only Fortune 500 firm, also increased 26.0 percent in the quarter to 71.83 billion ringgit year-on-year despite a "challenging" economic environment, it said.
"Global oil demand grew by 0.8 percent year-on-year due to increased demand from emerging markets but was offset by reductions from advanced economies," it said.
The company also has bid for onshore exploration blocks in Myanmar with a local partner there and expects the bidding process to be completed early next year, Wee Yiaw Hin, executive vice president of exploration and production, was quoted saying by Dow Jones Newswires.
The company said oil prices across the board were up to 55 percent higher in the second quarter but were expected to ease amid the global economic uncertainty and higher output from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
For the first half of the financial year, Petronas recorded 25.3 percent revenue growth to 144.8 billion ringgit, while profit rose 50.9 percent to 40.0 billion ringgit year-on-year.
Petronas said it expects a profit before tax of up to 75 billion ringgit for the financial year ending this December.
Petronas contributes almost half of Malaysia's budget revenues.
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