Shell Pilipinas expects 7% rise in core income

SHELL PILIPINAS Corp. expects its core earnings to grow by up to 7% this year due to improved fuel demand, a company official said.

“If you look at first-quarter performance, in a way, there is a bit of slowdown but for the remainder of the year, we expect that we will grow core earnings by at least between 6-7% and that is mainly driven by improved overall demand recovery in the country,” Reynaldo P. Abilo, treasurer, vice-president for finance and chief risk officer of Shell, said in a virtual briefing on Tuesday.

For full year 2022, Shell reported a 5.7% increase in its net income to P4.08 billion due to strong marketing performance and sustained high premium fuel penetration.

Mr. Abilo said that the Philippines remains an attractive market for the company.

For 2023, Shell has earmarked up to P6 billion for capital expenditures (capex).

“If you look at last year, 2022, we invested P5.6 billion of capex. For 2023, this year, we are planning to invest the same level, around P5-P6 billion,” he said.

Mr. Abilo said that the majority of the spending budget or about 60% is for the company’s mobility business.

Lorelie Q. Osial, Shell’s president and chief executive officer, said that the company is transforming its retail stations into a mobility business, which she described as “stations” to support its carbon-neutral drive by introducing electric vehicle charging stations and renewable energy-powered systems.

At the local bourse on Tuesday, shares in the company closed unchanged at P16.94 apiece. — Ashley Erika O. Jose