Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PDB) CEO and managing director Amir Hamzah Azizan shares his views and outlook on the year ahead with The Edge Financial Daily in this final article of the 2012 CEO Outlook series.

TEFD: What are your expectations for 2012, for Petronas Dagangan and the industry?
Amir: We expect 2012 to be challenging but the initiatives put in place over the years will enable us to ride through the rough patches arising from the slowdown in the global economy and fluctuations in international oil prices.

PDB is confident that it will be able to reinforce the company’s market leadership through our aggressive marketing initiatives, research and development, and global strategic partnerships focusing particularly on aggressive growth in the retail sector.

We will further improve our margins through ongoing stringent cost optimisation and operational efficiency initiatives across the organisation.

This year, we will explore growth beyond Malaysia, starting with regional opportunities that will complement our commercial goals.  

What are your company’s plans and focus for 2012?
We will continue to build our market leadership by giving our customers better value for money in the form of enhanced quality and services. At the same time, we will continue to invest in growing our four core businesses namely retail, commercial, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and lubricants. Building on our existing sound fundamentals, these ongoing efforts on the domestic front will certainly solidify our leadership position in Malaysia.

The retail business will continue to see growth through the expansion of our network of retail stations, which we hope to surpass 1,000 this year, putting us ahead of the competition.

I have reiterated that besides a wide network to reach out to our customers all over the country, PDB is also tuned into providing a wide range of complementary services at our stations, to suit the different needs of our customers and ensure that they can always associate a Petronas retail station with convenience.

Our LPG or cooking gas cylinder business currently enjoys market leadership status, and we are working hard on service enhancement that stands out as the best in class to complement this position. Our challenge is to find the simple, yet significant service areas which will make all the difference to our customers, and I am looking forward to launch one such service come mid-2012.

For lubricants, we will continue to grow sales through our strong partnerships with industry players and our wide distribution network. More importantly, however, is to relay to our customers the range and quality of our line of lubricant products developed by industry experts and have been proven to be the preferred brand in the motor industry as well as by industrial users.

The commercial business in PDB is a significant contributor to our sales volume and revenue. This year will prove to be challenging due to the global economic uncertainties that may affect domestic market demand. Our commercial team will continue to focus on going the extra mile to meet customer needs, and to secure products through our established supply and distribution network, ensuring consistent and reliable services to existing and new customers, particularly in the aviation sector.

We will explore opportunities to grow our presence outside Malaysia, particularly within the Southeast Asian region, as part of our strategy to reinforce Petronas’ position as the Brand of 1st Choice, and we are ready to pursue opportunities that clearly complement our existing business plans and operating values.

What impact, if any, do you expect from the euro crisis?
The euro crisis will have an adverse impact as the continent would be dragged into recession, causing lower purchasing power among consumers. This could translate into a knock-on impact on Malaysia — whichever way it swings — is still speculative.

As far as we are concerned, PDB will continue to aggressively grow its business in the Malaysian market and explore avenues for regional expansion.

We will leverage on pursuing growth within a fairly insulated environment and build up the company’s resilience to weather future challenges.

What is your personal wish list for 2012?
This year is the 30th anniversary of PDB, and I am looking forward to PDB punching through new milestones to gain market leadership, particularly for our retail and lubricants businesses.

As a company, PDB has proven to be exceptionally resilient, growing from a fledgling unit competing with the big boys to become the formidable company it is today. Much is due to the dedicated workforce and the host of visionary leaders who have helmed the company over the years. I wish to see this legacy continued as we cross the threshold to turn 30.

This would be a good year to take PDB overseas, and if the right opportunity arises, I hope to see it through to mark the coming of age of the company.

This is the final article of the 2012 CEO Outlook series, which started on Dec 19, 2011. The Edge Financial Daily interviewed Geoffrey Briscoe of BMW Malaysia, Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow of Public Bank Bhd, Jeffrey Chew of OCBC Bank (M) Bhd, Osman Morad of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Bhd, Yvonne Chia of Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian of Kuala Lumpur-Kepong Bhd, among many others. If you’ve missed them, please read our back issues on iPad for free.