Romanian oil and gas company OMV Petrom recorded a net profit of some EUR 545 million (RON 2.3 billion) in the first half of the year, up 18 percent over the same period in 2012, according to the company’s recent report. However, the company’s sales dropped 5 percent in first six months, to EUR 2.6 billion (RON 11.5 billion).

“In the first half of 2013, we improved our financial and operational performance compared with the first six months of 2012, as a result of last years’ investments, strict cost management and operational excellence initiatives. [...] Going forward, we are striving to deliver our 2013 investment program of more than EUR 1.2 billion, while addressing the challenges in the gas and electricity markets, and relying on an investment-friendly regulatory and fiscal framework,” said Mariana Gheorghe, CEO of OMV Petrom.

In the second quarter of 2013, the company recorded a net profit of over EUR 240 million (RON 1 billion), up 65 percent over the same period in 2012, while its sales went down 7 percent to EUR 1.3 billion (RON 5.7 billion).

The full report as submitted to the Bucharest Stock Exchange is here (PDF version, in English).

On July 10 this year, Petrom announced the sale of its 99.99 percent interest in the non-core gas distribution company Petrom Distributie Gaze to Ligatne SRL. “The decision is in line with the OMV Petrom strategy of optimizing the downstream operations with a view of improving efficiency,” according to the company. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Earlier this month, Petrom announced the commissioning of a new unit for gas desulfurization within the Petrobrazi refinery, as part of the modernization program initiated in 2010. The value of the investment was EUR 40 million.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Arhivafoto.ro)