Polish oil firm PKN Orlen has booked revenue of PLN16 billion in the second quarter of 2007, up 19.6% over the same period of 2006. Meanwhile, the group's operating profit grew 9.6% compared to the same period of 2006, and net profit rose 27.6%.
In addition, PKN Orlen’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization stood at PLN1.9 billion which, compared to the same period in 2006, represents a 14% increase.
The company said that the growth was driven by excellent results in its retail and petrochemical segments. PKN Orlen’s results were also positively impacted upon by its Optima cost reduction program, the results of which were 200% better than in Q2 2006, as well as financial operations, in particular positive exchange rate differences.
PKN Orlen’s retail segment improved operating results by 144% compared to Q2 2006, increasing to PLN186 million. This was primarily due to higher volumes of fuel sold in Poland (18.5%), the Czech Republic (21.1%) and Germany (6%), and through consistent cost discipline.
The consistent implementation of the OPTIMA program generated savings of PLN133 million, with the largest share contributed by the refining (PLN63.3 million) and retail (PLN37 million) segments.
Meanwhile, Mazeikiu Nafta, PKN Orlen’s Lithuanian refining unit, generated a positive operating result for the first time since the disruption in processing capacity due to fire damage. Mazeikiu Nafta’s Q2 2007 revenue amounted to $958 million, with a net profit of $45 million, whereas in Q1 2007, the company reported a net loss of $57 million.