KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 22): Fuel retailer Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd returned to the black in the fourth quarter, thanks to accounting gain, as well as better fuel and refining margins.

Net profit for the three months ended Dec 31, 2023 (4QFY2023) was RM41.42 million, versus a net loss of RM21.37 million in the same period a year ago, Petron said in an exchange filing. During the quarter, the company booked mark-to-market commodity gains totalling RM87.12 million.

Revenue for the quarter rose 5.25% year-on-year to RM4.49 billion from RM4.27 billion previously, driven by higher sales volume despite lower prices.

Going forward, Petron said it expects oil prices to remain volatile this year, flagging demand risks from fragile global economic growth, as well as supply concerns from ongoing geopolitical conflict in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Still, Petron said it will continue to grow its “retail presence, improve product quality, and increase efficiencies to ensure our robust and sustainable operations”. Petron and its sister companies operate more than 770 service stations in the country.

Petron has recommended a final single-tier dividend of 23 sen per share for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023 (FY2023).

For its full-year, Petron posted a 9.49% decline in net profit to RM272.06 million, as compared to RM300.59 million in FY2022. Revenue fell 6.18% to RM17.22 billion, from RM18.35 billion previously.

Shares in Petron ended up three sen or 0.63% higher at RM4.82 on Thursday, ahead of the results announcement, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM1.3 billion.