Analysts expect Petrom earnings to halve in Q3

Analysts familiar with the local stock market, on which Petrom is listed, foresee an average RON 351.3 million (less than €100 mln) in profit, some 47 percent lower year-on-year.

These estimates were made by analysts of brokerage companies Raiffeisen Capital&Investment, UniCredit CA IB Securities, KBC Securities and Erste Bank. They indicated net earnings for Petrom starting at €16.5 million (90 percent lower year-on-year) and up to €153.3 million (16 percent lower than in the third quarter in 2007).

The head of Raiffeisen Capital&In-vestment’s Analysis Department, Oleg Galbur, explained that the lower operating profit can be attributed to a re-evaluation of stocks, which lost RON 140 million (€38.6 mln), and the some RON 580 million provision required for the Arpechim re-evaluation.

OMV officials said the lower valuation of the refinery was due to significant energy consumption, low productivity, and high fixed Arpechim costs.

Meanwhile, the company is set to register a 30 percent increase in turnover, due to higher oil and oil product prices, analysts say.