Malaysia's state energy firm Petronas on Tuesday posted higher profit of 23.4 billion ringgit ($5.35 billion) for its first quarter, in tandem with greater revenue following an upward trend in prices.
Revenue rose almost 50% to 78.8 billion ringgit in the January-March quarter, mainly due to the price impact for major products, the company said in a statement.
Petronas said the quarter's post-tax profit was 154% higher than a year ago, though that was partially offset by higher product costs and taxation.
President and Group CEO, Tengku Muhammad Taufik said the state oil firm "greatly benefited from an elevated price environment", but held a cautious outlook amid uncertain geopolitical conditions and accelerated moves towards renewable energy sources.
"Despite favorable Quarter 1 performance, the high oil and gas prices are expected to remain vulnerable with increased volatility due to geopolitical and macro-economic uncertainties," the firm said.
($1 = 4.3770 ringgit)
(Reuters - Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Martin Petty)
