February 20 (SeeNews) - Slovenian fuel retailer Petrol [LJE:PETG] said it expects a consolidated net profit of 74.7 million euro ($79.3 million) in 2017, on the back of projected sales revenue of 3.6 billion euro.
The company's consolidated net profit jumped 11% to 72.7 million euro in 2016, while consolidated net sales revenue edged up 1% to 3.9 billion euro, Petrol said in a bourse filing late on Friday.
EBITDA totalled 143.8 million euro, a 6% increase compared to 2015, the highest in the history of Petrol.
"The Petrol Group is operating in demanding energy industry. The situation in the energy industry, the events on the global oil market, the economic trends in the world and in particular on retail markets impose on us demanding business restrictions", Petrol said. "We respond to requirements and challenges of the business environment by careful planning, well-thought-out business decisions, fast response to changes and an efficient risk management system".
The Petrol Group sold 3.2 million tonnes of petroleum products in 2016, a year-on-year increase of 12%. Revenue from merchandise sales totalled 505.2 million euro, a 4% increase on 2015.
In 2016 the Group also sold 123.0 million m3 of natural gas, 141.6 thousand tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas, 17.6 TWh of electricity and 129.5 thousand MWh of heat, exceeding the previous year's sales figures in all areas.
Petrol allocated 61.3 million euro to investments last year, mostly in the construction of a wind power plant in Croatia and a small hydro power plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Investment funds were also earmarked for other energy projects and the expansion of the retail network both in Slovenia and the markets of Southeast Europe.
At the end of December, the Petrol Group operated 487 service stations - of which 316 in Slovenia, 105 in Croatia, 36 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 9 in Serbia, 10 in Montenegro and 11 in Kosovo.
The company plans to reach a net profit of 97 million euro, sales revenue of 4.3 billion euro and EBITDA of 190 million euro by 2020.
($=0.941457 euro)