Petrom expects to make 10.97bn RON (some 3.07bn euros) in turnover in 2006 and net profit of 1.97bn RON (some 552 million euros), a company release shows.
The 2006 indicators were calculated in euros at the average exchange rate anticipated by the National Forecast Commission, 3.57 RON.
Petrom posted 1.406bn RON (389 million euro) net profit in the first nine months, over six times higher than in the corresponding period of 2004, and a turnover of 7.8bn RON (2.17bn euros), an increase of 22%.
"We intend to improve this result before the end of the year. The net profit this year will help us to fully cover the long-standing losses in previous years, so that the company will be "in the black". We may be paying dividends from this profit next year," Werner Schinhan, Petrom''s deputy general manager told Ziarul Financiar.
Petrom''s general manager, Gheorghe Constantinescu in his turn stated, "The results show the changes in the accounting system, an improvement in efficiency and in the management of the costs of business operations, as well as an favourable international climate."
Petrom''s gross margin of profit, 18%, compares to that of any petroleum company in the world.
"To be honest, I like SNP Petrom''s results. The return on revenues for the nine-month results, 17%, significantly exceeds the return on the six-month results, 11%, and the average returns in the sector. In this respect, the results are above expectations. Furthermore, such returns are the highest ever posted by Petrom in the last seven years, and could be the highest in an even longer period. Anyway, such results bring the assessment indicators to very interesting values," commented Razvan Pasol, the general manager of Intercapital Invest brokerage firm.
He added," This year''s results prove once more the capability of a private investor that means business to make a company profitable and the continued incapability of the state to do it for the companies it owns and, at least from my point of view, they put SNP''s shares into a completely different light, a favourable one, that is (...)."
Petrom''s 2006 budget was subjected to shareholders'' approval yesterday.
"The total investments of the Petrom group will amount to 2.334bn RON (next year that is), with about 50% of the total amount invested in the exploration and production sector. The focus in respect of exploration and production will be on the modernisation and rationalisation of production and of surface facilities, on projects to make production efficient and on implementing new technologies, new drilling operations, developing the deposits in Kazakhstan and underground gas deposits," a company release shows.
Investments in the refining sector will target the increase in profits, through projects that focus on the increase in the capacity and quality of the petroleum and petrochemical products, as well as on environmental operations and labour safety.
Petrom also wants to build new filling stations and modernise the existing ones, along with its storage facilities and IT infrastructure.
adrian.mirsanu@zf.ro
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