Petrom led the fuel distribution sector in Q1

According to market assessments, the retail segment was less affected than the commercial one.

Petrom announced that sales through stations amounted to 477 million liters (the equivalent of 386,000 tons), “due to the substantial investments in the retail activity between 2006 and 2008 and a more efficient management of distribution stations.” Petrom’s investments in marketing plunged 53 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2009.

Complementary products generated net sales worth RON 103 million (€24 mln), a 14 percent annual increase, “due to optimization of portfolio and the acquisition process.” At the end of the first quarter, Petrom had 449 fuel distribution stations.

The first three months of 2009 brought LukOil significant drops in sold volumes, with the corporate card segment most affected. The steepest decline on the retail segment in fuel sales was registered in January, of 20 percent, but sales picked up gradually, and in April had a level similar to that registered in April 2008, the company’s Deputy General Manager, Andrei Chirilescu, told Business Standard.

The third-largest player on the market, Rompetrol, posted a two percent annual drop in sold volumes on retail in the first quarter of this year, to 105,000 tons, according to the company’s quarterly report. Rompetrol currently has 644 fuel stations, up seven percent year-on-year.

MOL Romania, the local subsidiary of the Hungarian MOL group, will publish its first quarter results tomorrow. According to company estimates, the local fuel consumption fell some 10 percent since the beginning of this year, but sales are bouncing back now, due to the summer season and agricultural works.