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KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas, which reported an after-tax loss of RM21 billion, said today that any dividend payments to the government this year would depend on whether the company could afford it, in light of falling oil prices and Covid-19 pandemic.
The president of the national oil company and chief executive of the group, Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz, said that the company’s year-end results would be the guide to setting expectations.
He said there was no government pressure on the dividend, given the unprecedented challenges oil and gas companies face.
“The government did not force us to pay dividends until now … they are aware of our investment commitments (capital expenditure), investments and financial obligations,” he said. “This industry is volatile and, like other oil and gas companies, shareholders will tend not to see as many returns.
Tengku Muhammad Taufik said that despite a volatile market condition and smoother results during the period, Petronas still has a positive cash flow at RM26.3 billion.
For the second quarter of 2020, the group posted an after-tax loss of RM21 billion compared to a net profit of RM14.7 billion last year, due to lower income and higher net asset impairment losses.
Petronas posted a lower revenue of RM34.04 billion for the second quarter ended June 30 compared to RM59.12 billion last year due to falling prices and lower sales of oil, gas and natural gas products. liquefied and processed gas.
During the first half of 2020, the national oil company experienced an after-tax loss of RM16.5 billion for the period against a net profit of RM28.9 billion last year. Excluding the impairment loss, the group would record a net profit of RM7.7 billion.
The national oil company also posted revenue of RM93.6 billion, a decrease of 23%.
