The Romanian oil and gas company, OMV Petrom, has reported a record net income profit of 10.3 billion lei (2.1 billion euros) with 3.6 billion lei (735 million euros) spent on investments and a contribution of around 20 billion lei to Romania’s state budget (4 billion euros) according to the company’s preliminary financial statements.
During a press conference last week (3 February) announcing the financial results, the CEO of OMV Petrom, Christina Verchere, noted that 2022 was an “unprecedented” year for the energy industry and signalled the company’s cooperation with government support measures for households and businesses amid the energy crisis. “We fully understand the need for protecting vulnerable consumers, and we’ve seen measures taken in Europe without impacting market mechanisms,” she said.
The company’s net profits rose by 260 per cent, in comparison to 2.86 billion lei (584 million euros) in 2021. Whilst OMV Petrom’s spending in investments rose by just 26 per cent to 3.6 billion lei when compared with the previous financial year.
However, as noted by Alina Popa, OMV Petrom’s Chief Financial Officer and Member of the Executive Board, the majority of the profits are to be invested in Romania. In 2023, the company plans to increase investments by 70 per cent, which would shape an investment budget of around six billion lei (1.215 million euros).
The new investments this year include the Neptun Blue exploration project, which is expected to be completed in mid-2023. “All our are focused on moving this project forward,” added CEO Christina Verchere.
Together with the record-breaking net profits, the 20 billion lei contribution to the state budget was the highest in OMV Petrom’s history. Breaking it down, around 19 billion of the overall 20 billion lei came from direct and indirect taxes, whilst the remainder was made via dividends and other contributions. These contributions were four times higher than in 2021.
“OMV Petrom has the highest fiscal footprint in the Romanian economy,” OMV Petrom’s Chief Financial Officer underlined.
As highlighted by the company’s CEO, OMV Petrom also spent 200 million lei (40 million euros) on support for social areas such as healthcare, education and the environment.
Separately, the CEO of OMV Petrom said that the company estimated Romania’s demand for energy productions (retail fuels, natural gas and power) to be “broadly stable” in comparison to 2022.
