Following this decline, the company’s third position in Romanian fuel trade is threatened by rival MOL, which overshot the EUR1 billion mark after taking over Agip filling stations.
Thus, according to the latest data reported by Lukoil Romania, the company reached revenue of 4.97 billion lei (EUR1.12 billion) in 2013, down 17% from the RON6 billion registered in 2012.
According to market player information, fuel demand slightly contracted last year, by several percentages, revolving around 6 million tons of gas and diesel oil. At the same time, in 2013 the average prices of gas and diesel oil remained flat against 2012, so that Romania’s fuel consumption totaled some EUR9.5 billion, according with ZF estimates.
As market coordinates were relatively constant, Lukoil Romania’s revenue decline translates through lower sales of fuel by volume, likely to also mean a smaller market share controlled by the Russians. According to the company’s website, Lukoil’s market share revolves around 20% in Romania.
While the company saw its revenue go down, certain players gained market share especially through new investments in filling station networks.
MOL Romania, for instance, reached revenue of EUR979 million last year, up 5%, after the company opened 8 new stations, getting to a network of 143 stations. After the Hungarian group purchased all the filling stations Italy’s ENI had in Romania, MOL Romania got beyond EUR1 billion in revenue, becoming a strong candidate for the third position on the domestic oil market.
Lukoil posted further losses last year, of RON50.7 million, 4.3 times smaller than in 2012. The company reached 3,105 employees, 204 fewer than in 2012.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)