PRYCE Corp. reported a net income growth of 6.08% to P423.22 million in the first quarter as higher sales of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) products offset larger operating expenses.
“[The company] was able to achieve the above 6.08% increase in net income even with larger operating expenses due to its expansions of refilling plants and sales centers [across the country],” Pryce said in a disclosure on Thursday.
It is also building two more import-marine terminals in Visayas and Mindanao.
“These actions will bring much-needed employment, will further widen the scope and reach of PGI’s (Pryce Gases, Inc.) LPG business, and make its LPG products even more accessible to the consumers,” the company added.
Pryce said the new Republic Act No. 11534 or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives (CREATE) law, which reduced corporate income tax to 25% from 30%, also helped boost the company’s profits.
Revenues for the period amounted to P3.47 billion, 9.28% higher than the P3.18-billion topline in the first three months of 2020.
The company’s LPG segment accounted for 94.5% of consolidated revenues.
LPG gas sales volumes improved by 6.10% to 59,247 metric tons (MT) from 55,843 MT year on year.
“Revenue growth was likewise aided by a 9.52% increase in the average LPG contract price, from $526.83 per MT during last year’s first quarter to $577.00 per MT in the first quarter this year,” Pryce said.
The company, without disclosing specific figures, said earnings from its industrial gas products made up for 3.9% of its consolidated revenues, while its real estate and pharmaceuticals businesses accounted for 1.6%.
Pryce stocks at the local bourse climbed by 0.74% or four centavos to close at P5.44 apiece on Thursday. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte