March 1 (SeeNews) - Romania's Rompetrol Rafinare [BSE:RRC] posted a $220.1 million (182.6 million euro) net loss in 2020, compared to a $48.9 million net loss in 2019, it said.
The decline was due to an unprecedented volatility in the oil market and the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on demand for petroleum products, the company said in a statement filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange on Friday.
Rompetrol Rafinare posted a negative consolidated operating result (EBITDA) of $988 million in 2020, compared to a positive EBITDA of $131 million in 2019.
Gross turnover declined to $3.46 billion from $5.19 billion at the end of 2019, mainly as a result of lower market quotations compared to the same period last year, along with a smaller volume of sales.
Restrictive measures taken domestically and regionally or internationally to protect and limit the spread of COVID-19 were also reflected in the sharp decline in demand for petroleum products, high volatility in international fuel quotations, but also in negative refining margins, the company said.
Last year, Rompetrol's Petromidia Navodari refinery processed over 4.86 million tonnes of raw materials, compared to 6.33 million tonnes in 2019.
Rompetrol's other refinery, Vega, which produces bitumen and hexane, processed 364 kt of raw materials during 2020, compared to 436 kt in 2019.
In 2020, the petrochemical division of the company processed a total of 143 kt of polypropylene, up by 13% on the year, mostly due to changes in the operating schedule of its low density polyethylene plant in 2020.
On the distribution segment, Rompetrol's net profit slightly increased to $19.59 million in 2020, from $18.66 million in 2019.
At the end of 2020, Rompetrol Downstream's distribution segment comprised 1,061 points of sale, including its own network of stations, partner stations and mobile stations.
Rompetrol Rafinare is the core asset of Dutch-based KMG International, formerly The Rompetrol Group, which is fully owned by Kazakhstan's state-owned energy company KazMunaiGaz Group. Through its two oil refineries, Rompetrol Rafinare provides over 40% of Romania's refining capacity and is the only producer of polymers in the country.
Rompetrol Rafinare's shares traded 1.10% lower at 0.0450 lei ($0.01/0.01 euro) as at 0919 CET on Monday on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
($ =0.83 euro)