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Category: Inside information
Published on: SEOnet
Published at:  19.11.2021 08:15
Published document ID: INI-704/21
INI-690/21

PETROL d.d., Ljubljana

The Supervisory Board Discusses the Report on the Operations of the Petrol Group and Petrol d.d., Ljubljana in the First Nine Months of 2021

The information contained in this announcement will remain posted on the website of Petrol d.d., Ljubljana (www.petrol.si) at least 5 years from the date it is published.

The Petrol Group achieves good business results in the first nine months of 2021

Ljubljana, 18 November 2021 – At its 6th meeting held today, the Supervisory Board of Petrol d.d., Ljubljana, took note of the Report on the Operations of the Petrol Group and Petrol d.d., Ljubljana in the First Nine Months of 2021. The Petrol Group achieved good business results in the first nine months of 2021 with EBITDA amounting to EUR 175.7 million and the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio standing at 1.4.

“In the first nine months of 2021, the Petrol Group was successful in achieving its targets set for 2021 and its strategic objectives for the 2021–2025 period. Following the economic downturn caused by the pandemic in 2020, economic growth has resumed in 2021, but so have also energy prices, which have skyrocketed. The Supervisory Board of Petrol d.d., Ljubljana, deems that the Company’s Management Board has been successful in managing the Petrol Group’s operations in the time of market uncertainty, which is reflected in good business results achieved in the first nine months of 2021,” highlighted President of the Supervisory Board, Janez Žlak.

Nada Drobne Popović, President of the Management Board of Petrol d.d., Ljubljana, said: “At the Petrol Group, we have been successfully achieving the goals set in our ambitious strategy for the 2021–2025 period. On 6 October 2021, Petrol d.d., Ljubljana acquired Crodux Derivati Dva d.o.o., which is the Company’s largest acquisition in the last decade and represents the greatest one-off increase in the number of points-of-sale in our entire history; with this acquisition, the Petrol Group pursues its strategic objective which anticipates expanding operations beyond Slovenian state borders. A strong sales network on the Croatian market will also help us to expand the portfolio of customers in the fields of energy products and energy transition services. In the first nine months of 2021, 76% of our investments were earmarked for energy transition projects. Petrol’s second wind park, Ljubač, started operating in Croatia at the end of July. It will provide green, sustainable electricity to more than 30 thousand households. Our commitment to sustainable development and achievements in this field are presented in the Sustainability Report of the Petrol Group for 2020. Despite business uncertainty, the Petrol Group’s goals for 2021 are very high, with the planned EBITDA of EUR 213.5 million being Petrol’s all-time record. Based on the operating results achieved in the first nine months we are on a good way to exceed this ambitious goal.”

As a result of successful adaptation of sales to market conditions and effective cost management, EBITDA increased by 54% year-on-year and stood at EUR 175.7 million. Of this, 55.9% is accounted for by petroleum product sales, 18.3% by merchandise sales, 16.2% by sales of other energy products (natural gas, electricity, LPG), and 9.6% by sales of energy and environmental systems. The net profit of EUR 91.2 million increased 125% year-on-year. The adjusted gross profit stood at EUR 410.7 million in the first nine months of 2021, which is 36% more than in the same period of 2020. The share of operating costs in the adjusted gross profit stood at 70% in the first nine months of 2021 and was the lowest in the last decade.

In the first nine months of 2021, the Petrol Group achieved good results from petroleum product sales on the Slovenian market, which increased 3% year-on-year, and on the SEE markets where sales grew by 12% compared to the same period last year. In the first nine months of 2021, the total of 2.1 million tons of petroleum products sold represented a decline of 7% year-on-year, a result of lower sales to EU markets (mostly because of the changed import regime in Italy). With sales of merchandise, the Petrol Group generated a revenue of EUR 373.6 million in the first nine months of 2021, which is 10% more than in the same period last year. The Group sold 108.3 thousand tons of liquefied petroleum, a decline of 5% year-on-year. As a result of lower temperatures during heating season and increased sales on foreign markets, natural gas sales increased by 27% compared to the same period in 2020 and stood at 25.3 TWh. Sales of electricity to end customers increased with the incorporation of E 3, d.o.o. into the Petrol Group. At the end of September 2021, the Petrol Group operated 501 service stations, of which 318 in Slovenia, 111 in Croatia, 42 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 15 in Serbia and 15 in Montenegro.

“A capital policy based on long-term maximisation of shareholder return is an important target set in our development strategy. The Management Board of Petrol d.d. supports a long-term stable dividend policy, which also corresponds to the Petrol Group’s long-term development goals. Despite the pandemic’s negative impact on business operations in the previous year, Petrol d.d., Ljubljana, paid the same dividend on 6 August 2021 for 2020 as it had previously done for 2019, that is, EUR 22.0 gross per share,” further stressed President of the Management Board of Petrol, Nada Drobne Popović.

The Petrol Group’s stable business and financial position was once again confirmed by Standard & Poor's, which affirmed its rating at BBB- with a stable outlook on 9 April 2021.

Janez Žlak
President of the Supervisory Board


Nada Drobne Popović
President of the Management Board
Date: 22.11.2021