Pertamina books $1.42b profit in 2015

State owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina booked US$1.42 billion in net profit in 2015, marginally lower than $1.45 billion booked in the previous year.

Pertamina?s President Director Dwi Soetjipto said at the time oil and gas companies globally were heavily battered due the oil price slump, the firm saw its profit only slightly decreasing.

Dwi explained that oil prices dropped to around $42 per barrel last year from $106 around the middle of the previous year. This affected all oil and gas companies globally, including Pertamina. To cope with the price slump, many companies took efficiency measures by among others slashing capital expenditure (capex), operating expenditure (opex) ? these directly impacted operating performance ? and even cutting jobs.

While these happened, Pertamina was able to increase the operational performance of all its business units and subsidiaries and, at the same time, improve efficiency at all lines of business. Unlike many other companies, the firm did not lay off any of its workers. Still, the firm managed to gain a profit which was only slightly lower than the previous year?s.

?Pertamina looks like an anomaly. At the time companies experienced business slowdown at a rate of up to double digit, Pertamina only saw a slight decline. Pertamina was able to keep all its workers in place so that they can continue working with dedication for the company. This achievement would not happen unless we did not make breakthroughs throughout 2015,? Dwi said.

Pertamina?s upstream production rose 11 percent from 548,500 barrels of oil equivalent (bopd) to 606.7 boepd with natural gas contributing a significant growth of 18 percent from 1.61 bcfd to 1.90 bcfd. Meanwhile, geothermal production rose 8 percent to 3,056.82 GWh of power equivalent.

The firm?s refinery business recorded an important achievement last year due to the operation of RFCC Cilacap, a new production unit at the Cilacap refinery in Central Java, and the resumption of operation of the TPPI petrochemical plant in Tuban, East Java, which is now majority owned by the firm. Both facilities have brought positive impacts on the firm?s refining business, raising the yield value of the firm?s refineries to 75.52 percent from 73.14 percent.

Meanwhile, the decrease in product prices and the introduction of new products were able to improve the firm?s downstream business. For instance, Pertalite, a new gasoline introduced by the firm in July 2015, sold around 373,040 kl until the end of the year. Besides, Pertamina?s lubricants still held 59.1 percent of domestic market shares.

With regards gas business, the volume of gas transported and traded by the firm rose 4 and 18 percent respectively last year. Throughout last year, Pertamina Gas or Pertagas transported a total of 5431.17 bcf of gas, while trading volume reached 48,230 thousand bBtu.

With revenue amounting to $41.76 billion and EBITDA at $5.13 billion, EBITDA margin reached 12.28 percent, the highest in the past five years. Other facts indicating the firm?s financial health include debt payment amounting to $4.07 billion in 2015 and realized investment totaling $3.62 billion, 75 of which was allocated for upstream sector.

Meanwhile, efficiency measures in all lines of business monitored through Breakthrough Project New Initiatives Petamina 2015 program resulted in $608.41 in saved costs.

?The improved financial performance brings optimism for Pertamina to realize its investment and expansion plans going forward. Our investment focus is now on upstream sector and refinery, aside from oil and gas downstream infrastructures,? Dwi said.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon