Romanian oil company Rompetrol Rafinare narrows losses in first six months

Oil and gas company Rompetrol Rafinare’s consolidated net loss went down 40 percent in the first half of 2013, to USD 78.4 million. In the same period of 2012, the company’s loss amounted to USD 131.8 million. Rompetrol Rafinare’s consolidated gross turnover also dropped 13 percent in the first six months, compared to the same period in 2012, to around USD 1.9 billion, given the decrease of the international quotations of the oil products and volumes traded by the company. EBITDA losses for the first half of the year were USD 8.2 million, down from USD 29 million recorded in the same period in 2012. The company contributed USD 542 million in the first half of this year to the Romanian state budget. On the refining segment, the company recorded a gross turnover of USD 1.7 billion in the first six months of 2013, a year-on-year decrease of 18 percent, “following the decrease in the international quotations for oil products but also the planned production shutdown of the Petromidia Refinery in March-April 2013,” according to the company. Rompetrol Rafinare’s losses on this segment also went down to USD 71.2 million in January-June 2013, from USD 112.9 million recorded in the first six months of last year. The company’s gross turnover on the distribution segment also went down in the first half of the year, to USD 1.1 billion. At the end of June 2013, the distribution segment of Rompetrol Downstream comprised 753 stations, according to the company. On the petrochemical segment, Rompetrol Rafinare recorded a gross turnover of USD 103 million in the first six months of 2013, a year-on-year decrease of 22 percent. The quantity of raw material processed in the first half of this year has been 31 percent lower than in the same period of 2012. Rompetrol Petrochemicals has an annual production capacity of more than 200,000 tonnes of polymers. Rompetrol Rafinare is a member of the Rompetrol group, handling refining of crude oil and distribution of petroleum products, as well as petrochemical production. The company recorded a consolidated gross turnover of USD 4.6 billion in 2012, while its operating result (EBITDA) was of USD 76.8 million. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com