Petronas first half profit drops 47.5%

Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) posted a 47.5% decline in net profit to 20.3 billion ringgit (US$5.95 billion) in the first half of its fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, from 38.65 billion ringgit (US$11.33 billion) a year earlier due to an overall drop in product prices and lower sales volume. The national oil company reported a 37.5% fall in revenue to 98.18 billion ringgit (US$28.79 billion) from 157.2 billion ringgit (US$46.1 billion). “The negative effects of lower overall prices and lower overall volume were partly mitigated by the weakening of the ringgit against the U.S. dollar and higher sales volume of petroleum products,” Petronas said in a statement released via its website. (December 9, 2009)