Lubricant supplier Lanka IOC reported a net loss while the lubricants business segment of Malaysian state-owned oil firm Petronas’ domestic marketing arm posted a decline in gross profit for the quarter ending March 31.
Lanka IOC Plc. posted a 346.2 million Sri Lankan rupees (U.S. $1.9 million) net loss for the quarter ending March 31, down from an Rs 937.1 million net profit in the year-earlier period. Net profit for the six months from April last year to March this year increased 5 percent to Rs 421.8 million
Revenue for the quarter reached Rs 22.2 billion, up 20 percent from Rs 18.5 billion. For the six months from last April through March, revenue declined to Rs 81.9 billion, down 5 percent from Rs 86.3 billion.
In interim financial statement statements to the Colombo Stock Exchange, Lanka IOC reported an Rs 248.7 million operating loss for the quarter, down from Rs 668.4 million in operating profit in the year-earlier period. For the six months from last April through March, the company posted an Rs 634.7 million operating profit, down 26 percent from Rs 853.9 million in operating profit a year earlier.
Lanka IOC is a subsidiary of India public sector utility Indian Oil Corp.
The lubricants business segment of Petronas Dagangan Berhad posted a 3 percent decrease to around 28 million Malaysian ringgit (U.S. $6.6 million) in gross profit for the quarter, which the company attributed to higher product costs. Petronas Dagangan Berhad is the Malaysian state-owned oil firm’s domestic marketing arm.
The company noted in its earnings presentation that its lubricant business “will continue to focus on strengthening distribution channels in order to remain resilient in a challenging economy while seeking growth opportunities.”
Petronas Lubricants Marketing (Malaysia) Sdn was formed in 2015 to integrate all sales and marketing of Petronas lubricants in Malaysia into a single entity under Petronas Dagangan Berhad.