Published February 23, 2011

The presentation of the results for Q4 and January - December 2010

2011-02-23

Petrom, the largest oil and gas producer in Southeastern Europe, published its results1 for the fourth quarter and January – December 2010, prepared according to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), on February 23, 2011 at 8:30 (local time).

Favorable crude price environment more than offset weak downstream demand: Average Urals price increased by 15% vs. Q4/09; hydrocarbon production relatively stable at 185,000 boe/d; total marketing sales volumes were down 7% in Q4/10 compared to Q4/09, while consolidated gas sales increased by 15% over the same period
2010 results reflect higher crude price and strong efficiency improvements in our R&M operations: Petrom Group clean CCS EBIT was 78% higher compared to 2009; CAPEX increased by 15% over 2009 while EBITD was up 41% over the same period; based on 2010 strong preliminary results, dividend proposal is under consideration
Outlook for 2011: We expect Romanian market to come out of recession, with gradual improvements in the second half of 2011; the focus in E&P is to largely offset natural decline and to unlock potential; in R&M we will pursue operational optimization and the Petrobrazi modernization; our increased focus in G&P is on the start of operations in the power business in H2/11

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

Report Q4 and January – December 2010, (PDF, 313,3 KB)

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

Mariana Gheorghe, CEO of OMV Petrom S.A.: "Within a favorable crude price environment, 2010 marked the achievement of a series of strategic projects and strong improvements in our operational performance. In E&P, we successfully started the Hurezani gas delivery system by mid-year, as well as production at new key wells whilst maintaining the reserve replacement rate in Romania above 70% for the third consecutive year. In R&M, the economic downturn affected our fuels sales and burdened our margins. Nonetheless, we managed to significantly improve the R&M clean result by more than RON 500 mn, due to structural improvements and optimized operations, with the Arpechim refinery remaining in economic shutdown for most of the period. In the G&P business, we made steady progress at our key power projects, the gas-fired power plant in Brazi and the Dorobantu wind farm, both on track to start commercial operations in H2/11. Based on the strong 2010 preliminary results and financial position, we consider making a dividend proposal to the AGM in April 2011."

Q3/10	Q4/10	Q4/09	∆%	Key performance indicators (RON mn)	2010	2009	∆%
336	974	194	402	EBIT	2,986	1,620	84
789	1,085	757	43	Clean EBIT	3,537	2,315	53
760	972	586	66	Clean CCS EBIT ²	3,325	1,870	78
(100)	781	(129)	n.m.	Net income after minorities	2,201	860	156
26	779	200	290	Clean CCS net income after minorities ²	2,457	1,056	133
(0.0018)	0.0138	(0.0023)	n.m.	EPS (RON)	0.0389	0.0152	156
0.0040	0.0138	0.0035	290	Clean CCS EPS (RON) ²	0.0434	0.0186	133
352	2,065	1,242	66	Cash flow from operations	4,639	2,726	70
-	-	-	n.a.	Dividend per share (RON)	n.a. ³	-	n.a.

¹The financials are unaudited and represent Petrom Group’s (herein after also referred to as “the Group”) consolidated results prepared according to IFRS; all the figures refer to Petrom Group, unless otherwise stated; financials are expressed in mn RON and rounded to closest integer value, so minor differences may result upon reconciliation; Petrom uses the National Bank of Romania exchange rates for its consolidation process

² Adjusted for exceptional, non-recurring items; clean CCS figures exclude special items and inventory holding effects (CCS effects) resulting from the fuels refineries

³ Proposal to the Annual General Meeting currently under consideration