OMV Petrom (SNP), the largest energy company in Romania, recorded a net loss of RON 41 million (EUR 8.5 mln) in the third quarter (Q3) of 2020 as the sales declined by one-quarter year-on-year, according to the quarterly results released on October 28.

In Q2, the group's net profit had narrowed four-fold to RON 214 mln (EUR 44 mln) yet remaining in the positive area, as its sales compressed by one third.

The group again recorded declining operating results across the board in the third quarter of this year compared to the same period of 2019, except for electricity production. Thus, its revenues contracted by 26% year-on-year to RON 5.05 bln (EUR 1.04 bln) in Q3, and by 17% year-on-year to 15.12 bln (EUR 3.1 bln) in January-September.

Overall, in the first nine months of the year, the company still posted a profit of RON 826 mln (EUR 170 mln) - yet less than one-third of the RON 2.76 bln (EUR 575 mln) recorded in the same period last year.

The bottom line was also impacted by the RON 399 mln before tax impairment, triggered by the revision of mid- and long-term price assumptions. OMV Petrom also mentioned in its quarterly report that it paid RON 181 mln (EUR 37 mln) to parent-group OMV for taking over its stake in the Bulgarian perimeter Han Asparuh.

Separately, the group confirmed selling its assets in Kazakhstan, the only other country where it has upstream operations.

In 2019, OMV Petrom extracted two mln barrels of oil equivalent from the fields in Kazakhstan, while the production in Romania was 53 mln. OMV Petrom's shares went down by 2.6% on Thursday after the company released its financial results.

andrei@romania-insider.com

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