KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's state-owned oil and gas firm Petronas announced Wednesday that its profit after tax fell 27 percent year on year to 55.3 billion ringgit (13.09 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019, dragged by lower revenue and net impairment on assets.
The firm said in a statement, its revenue for the year slipped by 4 percent year on year to 240.3 billion ringgit mainly due to lower average realized prices for major products.
The national oil firm will declare 24 billion ringgit dividend to the government.
For the fourth quarter of 2019, the group's profit after tax slumped 71 percent year on year to 14.3 billion ringgit, primarily due to net impairment on assets and lower revenue, partially offset by lower tax expenses.
Its revenue for the quarter slipped 8 percent year-on-year to 64 billion ringgit, mainly due to lower average realized prices for major products.
Capital investments for the fourth quarter stood at 18.8 billion ringgit, attributed to upstream, gas and new energy and downstream projects.
Petronas foresees the oil and gas industry outlook to remain bearish, given the ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, prolonged trade tensions and near-term demand disruptions due to COVID-19 outbreak.
"Notwithstanding these challenges, Petronas will continue to deliver operational excellence and growth strategies. The board expects the financial performance for 2020 to be affected by these factors," said the group.
