Petrom, the biggest domestic company, posted net income worth 923m RON (218.2m euros) in H1, down 45% from the year-ago period; around one third of this amount was obtained through hedging instruments. However, Petrom’s income was 18% above the level registered by Austria’s OMV group, its main shareholder, which reported 185m-euro profit.
Turnover dropped by 28%, to 5.9bn RON (1.4bn euros). The company accounts for this figure by the falling oil product prices and the shrinking quantities of petroleum products sold on the commercial segment, as well as the declining sales of natural gas. The only segment that posted growth was retail, with volumes sold through Petrom filling stations rising by 22% in the first half.
"We are living interesting times. The economic crisis will grow in intensity in the second half of the year. The most important factors that pushed our figures down were the lower oil and gas prices and the company’s falling commercial sales," explained Mariana Gheorghe, Petrom CEO.
In Q2, the company generated 417m-euro net income, 39% smaller than in the corresponding period of last year, amid 2.8bn RON turnover, down 37%, as daily production reached a three-year low and fuel sales slumped from Q1.
"The retail segment hasn’t been touched by the crisis and this market has experienced stagnation. I believe, though, that by yearend we’ll see volumes go down by 5%, as well. As regards the segment of commercial clients, the decline may range between 5 and 15% by yearend," says Mariana Gheorghe.
Petrom officials warn that "the upcoming presidential elections may impact the government’s reaction to the current economic downturn".
In Q2, the company laid off almost 2,600 employees, besides the almost 1,600 people who left Petrom structures in the first 3 months of 2009. Overall, the company has been left with some 29,000 employees, from the over 50,000 it had at the moment of privatisation, five years ago.
"We’ll take reorganisation further to reach the level of productivity we are aiming for. Petrom has a strategy of gradually boosting the company’s competitiveness and this inevitably leads to redundancies. In all cases, compensation packages are awarded and employees are helped to find new jobs," explained Mariana Gheorghe, without specifying the number of layoffs planned for the second half of the year.
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