MalaysiaN national oil and gas company Petronas has posted a 2016 net profit of 23.5 billion ringgit ($5.28 billion) — up 12% on the previous year despite the challenging business environment.

Petronas attributed the improvement to the “deliberate sequential measures” that it took in response to the oil price slump suffered in recent years.

“I am encouraged that Petronas has emerged from 2016 as a more resilient corporation with strong underlying performance driven by our new structure, significant cost reductions and improved performance,” said chief executive Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin.