Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. is slowly recovering from the slump in fuel demand brought about by the pandemic.
Its top official said during the company’s annual stockholders meeting that Phoenix expects to hit near pre-Covid-19 numbers starting April.
“April is looking like it’s going to be our first month very close to pre-Covid levels, if not pre-Covid levels already. So, I’m quite pleased with what we’re seeing in our April monthly performance,” Phoenix President and CEO Henry Albert Fadullon said.
The first quarter numbers, he added, are “much better” than the previous quarter. “January was a slow start for the year, but we had very strong February, March results,” he added.
Fadullon said the company’s core petroleum business will be strongly supported by emerging digital and e-commerce channel through its app-based lifestyle rewards program called Limitless.
“Given the changing consumer landscape vis-a-vis our existing portfolio of brands and our over 18,000 retail touchpoints comprised of retail service stations, LPG retail outlets, FamilyMart stores and Posible retailers, we are identifying Limitless and e-commerce as our new pillar of growth that could drive close to 30 percent of our revenues in the future,” he added.
Limitless currently has over 119,000 users.
“Over the next few years, from a lifestyle rewards program, Limitless will evolve into a revenue-generating digital platform that will complement our traditional B2B and brick- and-mortar B2C channels,” said Fadullon.
The oil company is earmarking around P1 billion in capital expenditures annually over the next few years, to be funded by internally generated cash. It vowed to expand its retail business by leveraging on existing strategic partnerships such as the joint ventures, as well as monetizing brands through franchising.
“We will improve margins and returns, increase savings and promote efficient use of our resources. We will maximize the yield of our touchpoints and harness the potential of e-commerce, which we see growing continuously,” said Fadullon.