Rompetrol’s way to obtain financing in time of crisis

„These days, we will sign such a renewal with UniCredit and BCR [Banca Comerciala Romana], worth $110 million. Of course, interests have increased, but we are handling the crisis well. Our indebtedness degree has not increased in the past two years. In 2006, we already had debts of some $700 million,“ the group’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Dan Ionescu, told Business Standard.
Ionescu added that the company’s needs for financing from banks are not „exaggeratedly high,“ and the money is used in the short-run against various cash-in difficulties. According to the company official, Rompetrol’s shareholders – KazMunaiGaz and businessman Dinu Patriciu – injected over $700 mln in the group last year, which will be returned in the medium-run. „In times of crisis, we need to adjust, and we are constantly looking at the clients’ needs, the possible problems they may encounter, and also the services and products we could develop,“ Ionescu added.

As far as non-core assets are concerned, Rompetrol has recently sold the Eurojet air company to its General Manager, Dinu Patriciu, who bought it through the Fairwind Aircraft company. Moreover, Rompetrol intends to sell in the near future the FinGroup Credit non-banking financial institution, founded in 2006, which grants loans to individuals.
„The deadline for finalizing the sale of FinGroup is in April, as the company no longer fits the business model, and we have offers from three local bank subsidiaries,“ Ionescu said.
Eurojet registered over $10 mln in net sales in 2008, while FinGroup operates on the credit card market, with 10,000 active cards through which the bank granted some $10 mln in loans.

Rompetrol’s COO said that in 2007 the company initiated a program to raise efficiency by foregoing non-core assets and part of the staff, but this does not mean that the company has stopped recruiting specialists on the market, and has recently hired 70 people for its Midia marine terminal. At the end of 2008, the enterprise had 9,147 employees, of which 7,841 in Romania and 1,306 in France, Spain, the Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria, and Georgia.Rompetrol is the second-largest oil company locally, after Petrom, and forecasts an average level of $40 per oil barrel. At the same time, it expects a drop in domestic demand for fuel, of up to one fifth.

Ionescu added that the company will focus on and invest in the Petromidia refinery and its 902-gas station network, though investments will not be as high as in previous years.
The Rompetrol group registered $8.7 billion in net sales in 2008. Dinu Patriciu sold in 2007 a 75 percent share package of the group to the KazMunaiGaz oil company for $1.6 bln.