The Supervisory Board Discusses the Report on the Operations of the Petrol Group and Petrol d.d., Ljubljana in the First Six Months of 2021
The Petrol Group achieves very good business results in the first half of 2021
Ljubljana, 26 August 2021 – At its 4th meeting held today, the Supervisory Board of Petrol d.d., Ljubljana, took note of the Report on the Operations of the Petrol Group and Petrol d.d., Ljubljana in the First Six Months of 2021. The Petrol Group achieved very good business results in the first half of 2021 with EBITDA amounting to EUR 102.1 million and the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio standing at 1.3.
“The Supervisory Board of Petrol d.d., Ljubljana, believes that the Company’s Management Board has been very successful in managing the Petrol Group’s operations in the current market situation, which is evidenced by the good business results achieved in the first six months of 2021. In the said period, the Petrol Group has successfully pursued its goals for 2021,” highlighted President of the Supervisory Board, Janez Žlak.
Nada Drobne Popović, President of the Management Board of Petrol d.d., Ljubljana: “The business environment in which the Petrol Group operates has been facing major changes. The energy transition toward a low-carbon company and the development of new technologies have been transforming the traditional ways of how energy products are produced, sold, and used. The Petrol Group has responded by adopting a new ambitious strategy for 2021–2025. The Group will continue to supply the market with good quality petroleum products; to this end, we have launched a new generation of Q Max fuels, which ensure lower consumption, even better energy efficiency, and lower emissions. At the same time, the Petrol Group will properly respond to the opportunities delivered by the energy transition and the commitment to the green energy transition. In the first half of 2021, more than 70% of our investments were earmarked for energy transition projects. At the end of July, the Ljubač wind park started operating in Croatia. It will provide more than 30 thousand households with green, sustainable electricity. The Petrol Group’s goals for 2021 are very high with the planned EBITDA of EUR 213.5 million being Petrol’s all-time record. The operating results achieved in the first half of 2021 show us that we are on a good way to achieving this goal. By responding quickly to changed market conditions, both by adjusting and diversifying its product range and by streamlining and optimising costs, the Petrol Group managed to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on its operations. The share of operating costs in the adjusted gross profit in the first half of 2021 was 72.9%, a significant decrease compared to the same period of 2020. The Petrol Group’s stability was once again confirmed by Standard & Poor's, which affirmed its rating at BBB- with a stable outlook.”
In the first six months of 2021, the Petrol Group’s adjusted gross profit stood at EUR 258.1 million, an increase of 44% year-on-year. As a result of successful adaptation of sales to market conditions and effective cost management, EBITDA increased by 59% compared to the same period of 2020; it stood at EUR 102.1 million, of which 55.4 % is accounted for by petroleum product sales, 18.5% by merchandise sales, 14.2% by the sale of other energy products (natural gas, electricity, LPG), and 11.9% by the sale of energy and environmental systems. The net profit stood at EUR 49.4 million, up 140% year-on-year.
“In the first six months of 2021, the adjusted gross profit, EBITDA and the net profit were better even if compared to the results achieved in the pre-pandemic period,” pointed out Petrol’s President of the Management Board, Nada Drobne Popović.
In the first six months of 2021, the Petrol Group sold 1.3 million tons of petroleum products, down 13% compared to the first half of 2020 (mostly as a result of the changed import regime in Italy). Sales of liquefied petroleum gas stood at 66.3 thousand tons, down 13% year-on-year. As a result of lower temperatures during heating season and increased sales on foreign markets, natural gas sales increased by 58% year-on-year and stood at 19.5 TWh. Sales of electricity to end customers increased with the incorporation of E 3, d.o.o. into the Petrol Group. In the first six months of 2021, revenue from the sale of merchandise totalled EUR 242.1 million, an increase of 6% compared to the same period of 2020. At the end of June 2021, the Petrol Group operated 500 service stations, of which 318 in Slovenia, 110 in Croatia, 42 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 15 in Serbia and 15 in Montenegro.