Introduction
Pemex, Mexico’s state-owned petroleum company, reported a net profit exceeding 59,000 million pesos in the second quarter of 2025. Combined with the losses from the first quarter, Pemex accumulated a profit of just over 16,000 million pesos. However, this accounting improvement does not reflect operational progress but rather the appreciation of the Mexican peso between April and June, generating foreign exchange gains close to 135,000 million pesos.
Gross Performance and Cost Reduction
Pemex’s gross performance increased by 39% compared to the second quarter of 2024, thanks to a 15.6% reduction in sales costs. This was enough to offset the 4.4% decline in total income. However, a 31.5% rise in administrative expenses resulted in nearly identical operational losses to the previous year: 11,352 million pesos in 2024 and 11,100 million pesos in 2025.
Declining Revenues
Revenues decreased mainly due to a nearly 15% drop in exports, while internal sales grew by 2.6%. Oil sales to the external market fell by 29.6%. Within the national market, petroleum product commercialization dropped by 2%, while diesel sales increased by 12.5%. However, gasoline sales decreased by 2.9%.
Refining Challenges
As widely discussed and confirmed by the data, refining has yet to achieve the necessary efficiency to offset reduced crude oil exports, partly due to a 9% production contraction between the second quarters of 2024 and 2025 and a 10.5% decrease in the accumulated six-month period.
Financial Pressure and Debt
Pemex’s operational outlook is further complicated by sustained pressure on corporate finances. The total debt remains near 100,000 million US dollars, with 17% of it maturing between July and December, and over 28% due within a year.
Accounts payable to suppliers and contractors for the same period amounted to 430,540 million pesos, an 18.8% increase from June 2024, significantly above historical levels—in 2016, an atypical year due to crude oil price crises, they were around 128,200 million pesos.
Government Intervention and Future Implications
Facing this situation, the federal government announced it would seek an international trust to facilitate operations involving US Treasury bonds, aiming to provide liquidity to Pemex at below-market rates. This creative and necessary measure protects suppliers and thousands of workers, being preferable to direct budgetary transfers in such a challenging fiscal year.
However, these resources represent future obligations that, although excluded from the balance according to accounting criteria, do not resolve doubts about Pemex’s sustainability without profound governance, administration, and operational reform. Amidst deteriorating refining and continuous crude oil production decline, the challenge is substantial.
Key Questions and Answers
- What was Pemex’s net profit in Q2 2025? Pemex reported a net profit exceeding 59,000 million pesos.
- How did Pemex’s gross performance fare compared to Q2 2024? Pemex’s gross performance increased by 39% compared to Q2 2024.
- What factors contributed to Pemex’s operational losses? A 31.5% rise in administrative expenses led to nearly identical operational losses to the previous year.
- How did Pemex’s revenues perform in Q2 2025? Revenues decreased mainly due to a nearly 15% drop in exports, while internal sales grew by 2.6%. Oil sales to the external market fell by 29.6%.
- What challenges does Pemex face in refining and production? Refining has yet to achieve necessary efficiency, and crude oil production continues to decline.
- What measures has the Mexican government taken to support Pemex? The federal government announced it would seek an international trust to facilitate operations involving US Treasury bonds, aiming to provide liquidity to Pemex at below-market rates.
