BANGKOK,  In light of higher global oil prices due to sluggish supply in the third quarter of 2023, Thailand's leading oil and retail company PTT Oil and Retail Business Plc. (OR) managed to make quarterly profit growth of over 600% compared to the same period last year. The positive momentum was primarily driven by the impressive growth in the company's Mobility business, with the commercial market segment as key driver.

OR still maintained its number one market leader in Thailand's Lubricants business, while its fuel station network PTT Station enjoying a constant expansion as planned. Its aviation fuel business reported 60% growth compared to the same period last year due to recovering global economy, tourism and transport sectors. 

The company has also made a considerable progress in enhancing its EV ecosystem. As of 30 September 2023, OR had installed "EV Station PluZ" in 606 locations with 1,144 DC connectors, both inside and outside PTT Station. The charging station network now covers main roads and secondary roads, large districts, and major tourist attraction areas in 77 provinces of Thailand, as well as 2 locations in Cambodia.

OR's Lifestyle business also maintained a strong growth momentum. As of Q3, 2023, the company has a combined network of 4,284 F&B business outlets, comprising 4,045 Cafe Amazon outlets in Thailand, with 2,199 located in PTT Station and 1,846 outside respectively, 100 Texas Chicken outlets, and 119 outlets of other F&B brands, as well as 2,186 branches of convenience stores under the 7-Eleven and Jiffy brands in Thailand.

Key strategic move during the period is the launch of "xplORe", a vital mechanism to enhance seamless O2O (Online to Offline) customer experience, by driving online traffic to OR's offline stores and partner stores such as PTT Station, FIT Auto, Café Amazon, Jiffy, and other F&B and service outlets, etc. As OR's main digital platform, xplORe brings together all OR's standalone mobile applications e.g., Blue Card point-based loyal and BlueCONNECT e-Wallet into one single integrated super-app for ease, convenience and seamless experience of customers. 

Presently, xplORe's service offerings mainly cover OR's mobility and food & beverage businesses, with more enticing features in collaboration with more diversified partners to be added to enhance customer experience in the future. To align with OR diversification strategy, "xplORe" will also expand its service scope to OR's new targeted industries in lifestyle, health & wellness, tourism and other sectors.  The super-app is fundamentally a crucial engine of OR to leverage data monetization business model and accomplish its data to revenue strategy in the forthcoming future.

OR recently approved 5-year (2024-2028) investment budget of USD 1,900 million (Baht 67,396 m) of which 53.8% will be allocated to mobility business, 26.6% to lifestyle business, 11.9% to global business and 7.7 to innovation & new business respectively. In essence, the new investment will focus on the company's energy ecosystem, expansion of EV Station PluZ network, Café Amazon value chain, new partnership in health & wellness and tourism businesses as well as international business and new S-curve businesses.

Another provisional expenditure capital of USD 457 million (Baht 15,942 m) was also allocated for new investment in the next five years.

The company has continued to strengthen its industry leadership with new business endeavors throughout the year. Recently, OR launched PTT Flagship Station at Vibhavadi 62 in Bangkok midtown area as a new service station model that truly reflects its commitment to becoming a growth platform that creates opportunities for people and communities and the environment in line with the Sustainability Development Goals (SDG) in OR's way.

OR was recently selected to be a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) in an emerging market index with the highest score in retailing, reinforcing its commitment to promoting inclusive growth with communities, the economy, and the environment according to the three dimensions of ESG.

International business will also continue to be the company's one key focus, with target to achieve 15% EBITDA from its Global business by 2027.

OR expressed an optimistic outlook toward its 2023 year-end performance with supporting factors from positive economic growth, tourism rebound and increasing consumer spending.