A great business year for Croatia’s national oil company.
In the first nine months of this year, INA Group has posted net sales of 13.5 billion kuna, 23 percent more than in the same period last year, while gross profits grew by 274 percent, to more than 1.2 billion kuna. The results achieved, according to a statement from the company, show that INA had continued its successful business operations in the third quarter as well, reports Večernji List on October 30, 2017.
Net profits excluding non-recurring items were 83 percent higher and amounted to 959 million kuna, while operating profit (EBITDA) at the group level increased by 65 percent in the first nine months, reaching 2.3 billion kuna.
The research and production activities continue to be the primary business unit of the group, with the growth of its core business income of 52 percent, to 1.36 billion kuna. The refineries and marketing sector, including retail, achieved a significant improvement in results, reaching in the first nine months of the year the EBITDA of 564 million kuna. This sector continued to benefit from the favourable external environment, mainly a stable price of oil, higher margins on diesel and gasoline fuels, more oil being processed in refineries, and higher sales in local and export markets. The total volume of retail sales increased by six percent compared to the first nine months of 2016, which is the result of the growth of the retail network and sales of the Class Plus fuels.
Capital investments reached 824 million kuna, which was 15 percent less than last year, while net debt decreased by 60 percent, to 1.24 billion kuna, so the debt to capital ratio was at the historically lowest level of 9.7 percent.
“The strong financial results, with a low debt to capital ratio of 9.7 percent, show that we have been cautious in allocating resources and that we have prepared and strengthened our company for future challenges,” said CEO of INA Zoltan Aldott, pointing out that as much as 95 percent of the capital investment of the group in the first nine months of this year referred to projects in Croatia, which confirms that they are still one of the leading investors in the Croatian economy.
“A positive external environment has affected business operations of research, production, refining and marketing, including retail,” he added. The research and production EBITDA increased by 19 percent to 1.9 billion kuna, compared to the same period last year. The price of Brent crude oil was 24 percent higher, which had a positive impact on revenues from oil sales in the amount of 310 million kuna, while the lower gas price caused a decline in revenues of 68 million kuna. Local crude oil production is stable thanks to new projects and the introduction of new oil fields at Hrastilnica.
“Although we face a natural decline in production at international concessions and the Adriatic Sea, local crude oil production has remained solid due to continued investment. Also, the stabilisation of our service company CROSCO points to positive prospects for the future,” emphasised Aldott.
Translated from Večernji List.
