Rompetrol Rafinare reports USD 1.7 billion turnover for the first half of this year

Rompetrol Rafinare reported for the first half of 2010 a consolidated turnover of USD 1.7 billion, a 24 percent increase compared to the same period of 2009. At the same time, the operational result (EBITDA) and the net result were negative amounting to USD 24,7 million and USD 119 million.

The results were influenced by a 50 percent increase in oil assessments, which resulted an increase in working capital and related financing, differences of the exchange rate in the context of the depreciation of the national currency (18 percent for RON/USD and 4 percent for RON/EURO), and the international financial crisis.

In the first half of 2010, Rompetrol Rafinare together with its subsidiaries Rompetrol Petrochemicals and Rompetrol Gas recorded a total level of exports of USD 54 million, a 15 percent increase as compared to the first half of 2009.

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In the context of the international trends in raw materials and fuels, the refining segment, represented by the Petromidia refinery and by the subsidiary Vega Ploiesti, recorded in the first half of 2010 a turnover higher by 25 percent, up to a level of USD 1.5 billion. In the same period, the negative operating result standing at approximately USD 29 million (from USD 5.5 million) was strongly influenced by a 35 percent decrease of the refining margin, increased inventories and reduced demand.

Total sales of fuels for this segment were of more than 1.3 million tons, while the total processed raw materials reached 1.9 million tons, both dropping by approximately 9 percent compared to the first half of 2009. On the retail market, the company recorded a decrease by 22 percent of the fuel exports, keeping the same sales level on the domestic market, of approximately 700 thousand tons.

The total level of investments in the first half of the year amounted to approximately USD 54 million and were aimed at increasing the operational efficiency of the Petromidia and Vega refineries, and at continuing the program to increase the refinery processing capacity in Petromidia, up to 5 million tons of raw materials. Rompetrol Rafinare completed in July the first phase of the modernization of the delayed cooking plant. The total value of the project is estimated at USD 50 million.

The distribution segment, comprising the following companies: Rompetrol Downstream, Rom Oil, Rompetrol Logistics and Rompetrol Gas, recorded in the first half of the year an increase by 23 percent of the turnover, of more than USD 1 billion, but obtained a negative operating result (EBITDA) amounting to approximately USD 690 thousands.

The company has opened in the first half of the year a new Rompetrol gas station in Timisoara, expanding its retail network to 797 distribution points, including 445 fuel distribution stations (own fuel stations, Partener Rompetrol stations, Expres fuel stations) and 352 in-company bases, plus 258 auto LGP distribution stations and more than 6,000 point of sale of gas cylinders operated by Rompetrol Gas.

In addition, in July, Rompetrol Gas inaugurated the third LGP packaging terminal in Romania, in Bacau County, further to a total investment amounting to USD 11 million.

The terminal has an annual packaging capacity of 20,000 tons of LGP and a storage capacity of 1,500 cubic meters.

Rompetrol Petrochemicals, the petrochemicals division of Rompetrol Group, recorded in the first half an increase by 33 percent of its turnover, up to a level of more than USD 146 million and a positive operating result (EBITDA) of approximately USD 5.4 million due to the improvement of the international quoted prices of petrochemicals as compared to the first half of 2009.

Rompetrol Petrochemicals will increase by over 70% the capacity of its high-density polyethylene equipment (HDPE) by March 2011, the total investment being estimated at USD 18 million. The upgrading program will facilitate an increase of the equipment’s capacity from 60,000 tons to 100,000 tons/year, a decrease by more than 10 percent of the processing cost, the diversification of the range of products and also the increase of the operational safety.