PETRON Opens 200 New Service Stations

The country’s leading oil refining and marketing company Petron Corporation ( PSE:PCOR)said it has completed the 1st phase of its retail network expansion program. From January 2009 to January 2010, Petron has opened 200 new service stations across the country bringing its total service station count to 1,463—the largest retail network in the industry.

“We intend to pursue our network expansion program to bring Petron’s first-rate fuel products and quality services closer to Filipino motorists. This is also in line with our strategic initiative to strengthen the company’s core business and ensure our market dominance over the long-term,” Petron Chairman and CEO Ramon S. Ang said.

At the heart of the company’s expansion program is the establishment of Petron service stations in far-flung areas as the framework for volume building. The concept is based on pre-fabricated models that can start with 2-3 product pumps but easily expandable as demand increases in growth centers, real estate development sites and provincial areas. Of the 200 Petron service stations opened in the last year, 84 are located in Luzon, 48 in Visayas and 68 in Mindanao.

At present, Petron has 30% of the total oil industry service station count and this is expected to further increase in the next few years. The company has programmed the construction of more service stations over the next few years which is expected to further enhance its market leadership.

To complement this initiative, the company is already rolling out more services at its various gasoline stations to give customers more service convenience. These include bank ATMs, money transfer, bill payments, and additional food and service locators etc.

Petron posted a net income of P3.37 billion in the first nine months of 2009 continuing its strong recovery from losses suffered in 2008. This is equivalent to a 21% increase compared to the P2.78 billion income posted in 2008 over the same period

PSE Disclosure: Feb 9, 2010