Rompetrol Rafinare (RRC), the main company of the Rompetrolgroup controlled by Kazakhstan's state-owned company KazMunaiGaz(KMG), ended last year with turnover worth 6.28bn RON (1.48bneuros), down 28% from 2008.
In the first year when the Kazakhs held full control over thegroup built by businessman Dinu Patriciu, Petromidia continued itslosing streak, amounting to 470.3m RON (111.2m euros) in 2009, veryslightly up from 2008, when the refinery lost around 465m RON(126.3m euros).
"Financial results were primarily influenced by industryspecific factors, such as the 65% lower refining margins and thefalling oil product prices, by 30% for petrol and 43% for dieseloil," explain Rompetrol Rafinare representatives.
The results are calculated in line with Romanian accountingstandards and they are preliminary.
At a group level, the latest estimates indicated turnover ofaround $7bn for all the 12 countries Rompetrol operates in, withthis year's investment budget standing at $240m.
The Kazakhs have brought $1.8bn to Rompetrol since 2007, whenthey joined the shareholding structure of the group built byPatriciu.
One of the hottest issues this year for the business environmentis the repurchase of the convertible bonds RRC issued in 2003 inthe account of $600m debts. Should KazMunaiGaz decide not torepurchase them, the Romanian state is likely to become a majorityshareholder again.
In fact, the Romanian state entering the company's shareholdingstructure is not ruled out, with Finance minister SebastianVladescu recently stating KMG may repurchase these bonds onlypartially.
Last summer, Dinu Patriciu, the businessman who built, for tenyears, Rompetrol group around the Petromidia refinery, decided tosell his remaining stake in the company, after having parted with75% of Rompetrol stock in 2007. Overall, the deal stood at $1.7bnand Patriciu became Romania's wealthiest person.
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