Petronas executive vice-president and group chief financial officer Liza Mustapha said the stronger earnings recorded in the quarter were in tandem with higher earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda), and lower impairment loss recorded in the period.

“Our continued efforts to preserve and strengthen liquidity have resulted in the delivery of a robust cash flow from operations of RM32.7 billion in the first half of the year. This provides healthy liquidity for the group’s capital investment,” she said during her presentation of the group’s financial results for the first half of the year held virtually today.

In the second quarter, Ebitda stood at RM23.2 billion, an increase of RM14.1 billion from RM9.1 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2020, in line with higher revenue but partially offset by higher product costs and operating expenditure.

Revenue for the quarter advanced 68% to RM57.1 billion, from RM34 billion in the corresponding quarter last year, mainly driven by the favourable impact on prices of major products and a higher sales volume for LNG and petroleum products.