The company said its declining results were due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and unprecedented volatility in the oil market.
The company reported a gross turnover of $2.5 billion, down 35.7% on the year.
It said market demand contracted due to the pandemic, generating major pressures on gross refining margins. In the third quarter and in the first nine months of 2020, refining margins decreased substantially compared to the indicators for similar periods in 2019: $19.6/ton compared with $41.1/ton in 3Q 2019, respectively $11/ton versus $37.6/ton in the first nine months of 2019.
At the level of the global business environment, refining margins felt major pressure at the beginning of the year, reaching minimum levels similar to those of 2008. The reduction intensified in the second quarter of 2020, due to large stocks of petroleum products and rising oil prices, based on OPEC reductions in crude oil production, which were coupled with extremely low market demands. Although there was a slight improvement in the refining margin in the third quarter, it was insufficient to adjust the level of gross margins for the first nine months of 2020, the company said in its earnings report.
Petromidia Navodari refinery activity was halted between March and April for the general turnaround.
In the first nine months of 2020, the company recorded a consolidated gross turnover of over $2.5 billion, declining as a result of lower market quotations compared with the same period last year, along with a smaller volume of sales, but also due to other important factors – the turnaround, the unprecedented volatility of the oil market and the significant decrease in market demand caused by the measures imposed by the pandemic.
Rompetrol Rafinare’s consolidated EBITDA decreased to a negative of $21.6 million dollars, and the consolidated net result was a $156 million loss.
The total value of exports made between January and September by the Petromidia, Vega refineries and the Petrochemical Division of Rompetrol Rafinare amounted to approximately $468 million.
The main shareholders of Rompetrol Rafinare SA are KMG International (54.63% – directly and indirectly) and the Romanian state (44.7%).