Top oil distributor generates $50 million amid falling global oil prices

Data from Bloomberg showed that from January to mid-February, the global price of crude oil collapsed to under $30 per barrel before rallying to nearly $40 per barrel at the end of March.

Petrolimex, however, made a pre-tax profit of VND1.37 trillion ($61.6 million), of which oil products contributed 47.9 percent. Petrolimex’s post-tax profit was VND1.1 trillion ($51 million), tripling 2015’s figure.

The company also contributed VND8.2 trillion ($370 million) to the state budget, up 17 percent from the same period last year.

According to Vietnam Customs, the country imported 2.8 million tons of oil products in the first quarter of 2016, jumping 14.1 percent on-year. Import value, however, fell 31 percent to $935 million.