MANILA - Petron said Tuesday that its net income fell "significantly" in the first half as the second round of fuel excise tax hikes hit revenues.

The Philippines' largest oil firm said it booked a net income of P2.6 billion in the first six months of the year, down 72 percent from the same period last year.

Revenues also fell 7 percent to P254.8 billion during the period.

The company said Philippine sales declined "due to the implementation of the second tranche of TRAIN Law, which brought total fuel taxes to an average of P6.75 per liter equivalent to over P15 billion excise taxes for the first half."

Petron said it was continuing to expand its network, and completed 72 stations in the Philippines and 24 new stations in Malaysia.

“We remain optimistic for the second half of the year given signs of modest recovery from gasoline and petrochemical margins recently seen in the market,” said Petron President and CEO Ramon Ang.

The company said it would also resume normal operations at its Bataan refinery after completing scheduled repair works, following the April 22 earthquake that shook Central Luzon and Metro Manila.

Petron earlier said the earthquake triggered the “protective tripping” of some units of its refinery in Limay, Bataan, leading to a plant shutdown.