PTT Q2 Profit Plummets 40% on Petrochemical and Refining Woes

Energy giant's earnings hit by lower sales, higher operating costs, and inventory losses in its key downstream businesses

 

PTT, Thailand's state-owned energy conglomerate, has announced a significant drop in its second-quarter profits for 2025.

 

The company's net profit fell by nearly 40% to 21.5 billion baht, a sharp decline from the 35.5 billion baht recorded in the same period last year.

 

This downturn was largely attributed to a weaker performance in its core petrochemical and refining businesses.

 

The company's Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at 78.8 billion baht, a decrease of 31.7% from the 115.3 billion baht in Q2 2024.

 

According to a company statement, the decline was driven by several key factors. The petroleum exploration and production segment saw a dip in performance due to lower average selling prices and sales volumes, which were compounded by higher operating expenses.
  

The petrochemicals and refining businesses were particularly hard hit.

 

The refining segment registered a net inventory loss of approximately 7.2 billion baht for the quarter, a stark contrast to the 2.8 billion baht profit it recorded in Q2 2024.

 

This occurred despite an increase in both the market gross refining margin (GRM) and sales volumes. The petrochemical business also struggled, mainly due to a narrowing price spread between its finished products and raw materials for the aromatics and olefins groups.

 

The company's international trading arm also experienced a downturn, with a reduced per-unit profit margin as the price spread for products narrowed in line with global oil price fluctuations.

 

Furthermore, the natural gas business saw a mixed performance; while the gas separation plants recorded a gross profit increase due to lower costs, the gas sourcing and wholesale unit faced a decline in gross profit as the reduction in gas costs was less than the drop in average selling prices to industrial clients.
  

On a positive note, the Q2 2025 results included a non-recurring post-tax gain of approximately 4.2 billion baht.

 

This was primarily a share of profit from associates after Thai Oil Public Company Limited (TOP) recognised a bargain purchase gain from acquiring and merging Shell's Singapore refinery assets.

 

This provided a partial offset to the broader decline in the company's operating performance.

(2025/08/14-00:00)