Petronas' profits falls 16%

Petronas' profits falls 16%

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's national oil company Petronas said
Wednesday its pre-tax profit fell 16.2 percent for the year to
March from the previous year to 24.32 billion ringgit (US$6.4
billion).

The oil giant said it posted revenues of 67.181 billion
ringgit for the period, down 8.4 percent from the year-earlier
73.351 billion.

Petronas attributed the falls to the global economic slowdown
in 2001, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the US, and
"increasing geopolitical instability in many parts of the world".

"The combination of these events dampened demand for energy
and drove prices down, resulting in a 21 percent decline in the
average price of Malaysian crude oil during the financial year,"
it said in a statement. -- AFP