July 27 (SeeNews) - Croatian oil and gas company INA [ZSE:INA-R-A] said on Thursday its first-half consolidated net profit, excluding special items, soared to 608 million kuna ($96.2 million/82 million euro) in the first half of 2017, from 70 million kuna a year earlier, mostly due to favourable external environment.
Net profit attributable to equity holders reached 861 million kuna, up from 23 million kuna last year, and was the company's best first-half result since 2011, INA said in a Zagreb bourse filing.
INA's net sales revenue surged by an annual 34% to 8.4 billion kuna in January-June, triggered by the company's exploration and production business, as well as refining and marketing, including retail sales which flourished on the back of an improved price environment.
Consequently, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation [EBITDA] excluding special items, grew 168% to 1.4 billion kuna.
INA's key growth drivers in the first hal of the year were favourable external environment, mainly driven by stable DTD Brent price around $50 per barrel, higher diesel crack spreads (+$13/t vs H1 2016), and more favourable, less negative fuel oil spread which had a direct positive impact on refining margins.
The company's capital expenditure dropped 28% to 520 million kuna in the first six months of the year. Investments were impacted by a different schedule, where a more intensive investment campaign is expected in the second half of 2017.