Petrom net profit is forecast to drop 5 percent this year to some €643 million, according to an
Austrian Erste Bank report. Estimates are higher than those made by the oil company, which expects a 26 percent drop, to €515.8 million.
According to the Austrian bank’s report, Petrom’s profit will be subject to an upward trend as of 2008, and will even double by 2012, to €1.3 million. Last year, Petrom posted net profit worth €695.7 million, a 61 percent year-on-year increase.
Este Bank’s forecast also shows that Petrom’s revenues will drop 15.5 percent this year, down to €3.364 billion. Petrom estimates a 19 percent drop in net sales for 2007, to €3.24 billion. Its revenues will increase annually, on average, by €381.34 million in the coming six years, up to €4.73 billion by 2012. One of the main elements impacting on revenues is the oil quota-
tion, forecast to drop to $40 per barrel in 2012, compared to last year’s price of $65.1 per barrel. Erste anticipates a decrease in refinery activities, especially as of 2009.
The Leu’s exchange rate also impacts on Petrom’s financial results. Erste expects the Romanian currency to remain strong against the U.S. dollar, although it will drop in the long term because of the dollar’s appreciation against the euro.
