PETALING JAYA: Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PCG) suffered a 73.3% drop in net profit for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023 to RM1.69 billion from RM6.32 billion previously, prompting its managing director to bemoan that FY2023 was a “tough year”.
Revenue for the year dipped marginally to RM28.67 billion from RM28.95 billion, according to its bourse filing today.
Its fourth quarter net profit fell 76% to RM112 million from RM481 million on lower revenue of RM7.21 billion versus RM8.7 billion a year ago.
The disappointing results were due to moderating economic growth and slower-than-anticipated China recovery which weighed on the industry leading to lower product demand and softening prices, it added.
PCG declared a dividend of five sen per share amounting to RM400 million, bringing total dividend for FY2023 to 41 sen per share, totalling RM1 billion.
“FY2023 was a tough year for the group, both on the market and operational fronts. We faced interruptions at a few of our plants, which led to weaker performance in our olefins and derivatives, and fertilisers and methanol segments.
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“At the same time, the specialties segment continued to be impacted by prolonged destocking and intensified competition from Chinese producers,” said managing director cum CEO Mazuin Ismail.
Despite the persistent low spreads and operational challenges, PCG remains “resilient with a healthy financial position”, he said.
On the chemicals market outlook, Mazuin said the challenges seen in 2023 are expected to continue into 2024 as economic recovery is forecasted to remain sluggish, but with pockets of opportunities in various sectors.
PCG is the leading integrated chemicals producer in Malaysia and one of the largest in Southeast Asia.
At 3.28pm, PCG’s shares were down eight sen or 1.2% to RM6.87, valuing the group at RM55 billion.
