The presentation of the results for Q4 and January - December 2008

Petrom, the largest oil and gas producer in South Eastern Europe, published its results for the fourth quarter and January – December 2008, on February 25, 2009 at 8:30 (local time).

• 2008 was a year of mixed results: turnover increased 36% yoy driven by the overall favorable oil price environment; operating profit (EBIT) went down by 33% yoy, due to one-off items such as provisions for litigations and restructuring and impairment of assets
• Q4/08 affected by sharp oil price decline and additional provisions booked: for the first time after privatization, EBIT recorded a negative RON 1,200 mn, compared to RON 332 mn in Q4/07
• Some of the targets for 2010 were already achieved: reserve replacement rate reached 71%, annualized throughput per filling station was 4.3 mn liters
• Restructuring and modernization of Petrom continued throughout 2008, with record investments amounting to RON 6,404 mn, an increase of 68% compared to 2007
• Outlook: Continuous screening and prioritization of investment projects and OPEX costs in order to ensure both that our strong financial position is maintained and our strategic objectives are achieved

You can download the presentation of the results here (pdf format):

Report Q4 and January – December 2008, (PDF, 304,1 KB)

The results will also be reviewed within OMV's analysts and investor conference call broadcast as a live audio-webcast at 11.30am (CET)/ 12.30 (Bucharest time).

Mariana Gheorghe, CEO of Petrom

“Our financial performance in 2008 was affected to a large degree by one-off items such as provisions for litigations and restructuring, as well as the impairment of Arpechim refinery. Excluding these one-off items, Petrom recorded both a significant increase in turnover, due to the favorable oil price environment during the first three quarters of the year, and improved operational efficiency in all business segments. The benefits of our modernization efforts are becoming more and more visible – we have stabilized Romanian oil production, we are successfully integrating the service activities of Petromservice, which we acquired at the beginning of the year, and we have largely completed the turnaround in Marketing. As a result of this restructuring and modernization program, backed by significant investments since 2005 following privatization, and due to our low financial leverage, we are in a good position to face the challenges of a weakening market environment. With a continuous emphasis on efficiency improvement and cost monitoring, together with a conservative financial strategy in line with OMV Group, we will focus on achieving our strategic objectives and further develop our competitive position in the oil and gas industry”.
 

* Investments include increases of Petrom share participations