March 13 (SeeNews) - North Macedonia-based fuel retailer Makpetrol [MSE:MPT] said on Monday it expects to generate a pre-tax profit of 876 million denars ($15.2 million/14.2 million euro) in 2023, down 38% compared with a year earlier.
The company anticipates total revenue to increase 5% on the year to 39.43 billion denars, whereas its total expenses are projected at 38.55 billion denars in 2023, some 7% higher compared with the previous year, Makpetrol said in a bourse filing.
The fuel retailer expects its operating revenue to fall 5% year-on-year to 3.9 billion denars in 2023 due to lower margin caps on oil derivatives set by the government. At the same time, operating costs are seen growing 16% this year, to 3.4 billion denars, mostly due to an expected rise in salary expenses.
The company hopes to sell some 314,000 tonnes of oil derivatives in 2023, a rise of 3.4% from last year, as well as 786 million kWh natural gas, down 13.5% compared with 2021.
Makpetrol has a network of over a hundred filling stations across North Macedonia. The company also has units in neighbouring Serbia and Greece.
Makpetrol's shares traded at an average price of 68,067 denars on the Macedonian Stock Exchange (MSE) on Monday, the latest available bourse data showed.
(1 euro = 61.67 denars)