OMV Petrom 2009 profit up
OMVs Romanian subsidiary Petrom yesterday (Thurs) reported a net profit of 334 million Euros in 2009.That was up by 34 per cent from its net profit of 248 billion Euros in 2008.Petrom, Romanias largest oil company, had turnover of 3.13 billion Euros in 2009, down by 23 per cent from 4.08 billion Euros the previous year.OMV Petrom reported a net loss of 41.5 million Euros in the fourth quarter, much lower than its net loss of 309 million Euros in the same period a year ago.Petrom’s earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) were 9.3 million Euros in the last quarter of 2009, significantly below its Ebit of 171.9 million Euros in the third quarter.Petrom posted net turnover of 826 billion Euros in the fourth quarter, down by 10 per cent year on year.”Total sales declined by 21 per cent year on year in the last quarter of 2009, driven by lower exports and the challenging Romanian economic environment,” Petrom said.CEO Mariana Gheorghe announced: “Despite the worsening economic environment, 2009 was marked by the achievement of several milestones.”We commissioned a new gas processing plant in Midia, successfully started production at the Komsomolskoe field in Kazakhstan and at two offshore wells in Romania and maintained a domestic reserve replacement rate of 70 per cent,” he added.Petrom invested one billion Euros by 2009, down by 35 per cent year on year, according to Romanian Times.At the end of December, Petrom employed 27,470 persons, down by 18 per cent from 33,311 a year earlier.The results have not been audited and were prepared according to Romanian accounting standards.Petrom was privatised and acquired by OMV in 2004.OMV meanwhile said that its net profit had declined by 58 per cent year on year to 572 million Euros in 2009.Turnover fell by 30 per cent year on year to 17.92 billion Euros last year. Analysts had expected a decline of 26.5 per cent in turnover and 65.2 per cent in net profit.Earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) fell by 40 per cent year on year to 1.41 billion Euros in 2009, whereas analysts had expected a drop of 39 per cent.OMVs net debt fell by four per cent year on year to 3.31 billion Euros, and its investment declined by 34 per cent to 2.36 billion Euros last year.General Director Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer said 2009 had been a “volatile and challenging year” but added that the firms cost-cutting efforts were succeeding.