Petronas' earnings rise

Petronas' earnings rise

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia's Petronas Gas Bhd. said net earnings jumped 63.8 percent from year earlier to 381.89 million ringgit (US$152.76 million) in the six months to Sept. 30.

The gas unit of national oil corporation Petroliam Nasional (Petronas) Bhd. said the profit was achieved on a 34.3 percent increase in turnover to 606.98 million ringgit during the same period.

"The directors are of the opinion that the company will be able to sustain its performance in the current second half-year," the company said in a statement released late Monday.

Officials said earnings per share climbed 56.8 percent to 25.4 sen.

The result was "in line with expectations," said Chia Su Ching, an analyst with OCBC Securities Sdn. Bhd.

The gas company's production from its four processing plants in Malaysia's eastern Sarawak state is currently one billion cubic feet (30 million cubic meters) annually.