MOSCOW (
MRC) -- Last year, the ORLEN Group consistently pursued its strategic objectives and operational goals, said the producer in its press-release.
The company paid out dividend for the first time since 2008, at a yield of 3.8% (based on the average ORLEN stock price in 2012), and regained, after four years, investment grade ratings from Fitch and Moody's. It also diversified its financing sources through a successful PLN 700m issue of retail bonds. Development projects in the exploration and production and power generation segments continued to proceed on schedule, and the Group was joined by TriOil following acquisition of an equity interest in the Canadian production company. Concurrently, by the end of Q4 2013 PKN ORLEN reduced its debt by PLN 2.2bn, to PLN 4.6bn.
Despite these strategic achievements, the steady decline in refining margins, coupled with expansion of the grey economy, weighed heavily on the ORLEN Group's financial performance in 2013. The poorer results posted by the refining segment were partly offset by improvements in the petrochemical and retail segments.
In 2013, PKN ORLEN reported - LIFO-based EBITDA of PLN 3.2bn, revenue of PLN 113.8bn, positive operating cash flow of PLN 5.7bn, crude oil throughput up 1% year on year, total sales volume of nearly 36m tonnes, very good operating result of the retail segment at PLN 1.3bn, and of the petrochemical segment at PLN 2bn.
A very solid result of PLN 420m was posted by the petrochemical segment, though the amount was slightly less than in Q4 2012, mainly due to lower margins on petrochemical products. The weakening of the average PLN/EUR exchange rate and higher sales of fertilizers, PTA and PVC also contributed, although lower sales volumes of olefins and polyolefins caused by maintenance shutdowns earlier in the year partially offset the result.
The refining segment continued to be strongly affected by macroeconomic factors. At the end of last year, it had to cope with the lowest refining margin and Ural/Bent differential since 2002, whose negative effect on the segment's results was as much as PLN 552m. All in all, the LIFO-based EBITDA came in at PLN 51m. Higher sales volumes in Poland and improved fuel yields from the Plock and Mazeikiai refineries were among the refining segment's operating achievements in Q4 2013, although these were offset by lower sales in the markets served by ORLEN Lietuva and in the Czech Republic.
As MRC
informed previously, in mid-June 2013 PKN Orlen offered for sale a second PLN 200m tranche of its bonds and expects the proceeds from the entire bond issue programme to reach approximately PLN 1bn. This move was done in response to the enormous interest in PKN Orlen bonds on the part of investors, who subscribed to the entire PLN 200m of the first series of bonds in just two days.
Polski Koncern Naftowy ORLEN S.A. (PKN Orlen) is a Polish oil and gas company. It has a lot of petrol stations in Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Slovakia. It is the biggest company in Poland and one of the biggest oil and gas companies in Europe. Polish group PKN Orlen PKNA is a majority owner - 63% of czech polyolefins manufacturer Unipetrol.
MRC