Romania’s Rompetrol Rafinare narrows loss by 40% in January-June

Romanian company Rompetrol Rafinare, member of KMG International, ended the first half of the year with a net loss of USD 46.9 million, down 40 percent compared to the USD 78.4 million registered in the same period of 2013. The company’s gross turnover increased by 41 percent year-on-year in the first six months of 2014, to USD 2.78 billion. The operational result (EBITDA) reached a value of USD 25.5 million, compared to a negative result of USD 8.2 million registered in the same period of 2013. “Financial indicators have been mainly supported by the positive operational results – processed raw materials (+46 percent), by the fuel sales on the domestic market (+24 percent) and at export (+75 percent), but also by the decrease of processing costs through the increase of energy efficiency and the maintenance of the mechanical and operational availability,” reads the company’s statement. Rompetrol Rafinare, through the Petromidia and Vega Refineries, processed over 2.4 million tonnes of raw material during the first half of 2014, up 46 percent year-on-year. In this period, the company’s exports reached a level of over USD 1 billion. In 2013, the value of fuel delievered abroad reached USD 1.7 billion, the estimates for this year targeting an increase of exports by over 20 percent, according to the company. Rompetrol Rafinare contributed USD 779 million to the state budget in the first six months of the year. In the first half of the year, the distribution segment of Rompetrol Rafinare recorded a turnover of around USD 1.5 billion, being by 28 percent higher compared to the same period of 2013. Also, its net result increased to USD 6.9 million. The total sales of fuels through Rompetrol Downstream, the retail division of KMG International in Romania, increased in the first half 2014 by 18 percent, from 743 thousand tonnes to 881 thousand tonnes. Rompetrol Rafinare is part of KMG International group (formerly known as The Rompetrol Group), which is a subsidiary of KazMunayGas, the state owned oil company of Kazakhstan. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com