PXP Energy trims 9-month losses to P26.3 million

Published October 28, 2016, 10:01 PM By Myrna M. Velasco

http://business.mb.com.ph/2016/10/28/pxp-energy-trims-9-month-losses-to-p26-3-million/

The petroleum company led by the Pangilinan group had trimmed down its losses to P26.3 million in the nine-month financial review from the year-ago level of P65.9 million.

On a consolidated basis, the net loss of PXP Energy Corporation, formerly known as Philex Petroleum Corporation, had been heftier at P38.5 million compared to 2015 at R118.1 million.

“The lower net loss was primarily attributable to a 77.4 percent reduction in overhead resulting from management’s continuing cost reduction efforts,” the company said.

It emphasized that the level of financial losses from January to September this year had been “net of lower petroleum revenues contributed by its subsidiary, Forum Energy Ltd.” By far, that had been mainly due to continuing decline in oil prices in the world market.

The petroleum exploration firm has been continuously managing its business along strategic paths amid the difficult times – not just on opportunities, but structurally.

Notably on April 27 this year, its majority-owned subsidiary Pitkin Petroleum Limited had assigned 70 percent of its participating interest in Service Contract 53 on an offshore Mindoro prospect to another entity – the Mindoro-Palawan Oil and Gas, Inc.

Following its renaming process, the company also instituted distribution of its holdings in PXP Energy as property dividends – that then led to reduction of its share from 64.7 percent to 19.8 percent. On the back of this, however, ownership base widened through increased public float of PXP shares to 30 percent from previously at 16.4 percent.

Low oil prices may still be lingering for longer, although some glimmers of hope are now manifesting for gradual uptick in prices.

For PXP Energy, it has been previously banking on a “significant prospect” at Recto Bank, but with the unresolved diplomatic row at the West Philippine Sea, probabilities of favorable outcome had dissipated.

The Department of Energy (DOE), on the request of other government agencies, ordered suspension of drilling at the prospect area and that not been lifted until now.