Ljubljana, 10 November (STA) - The group around fuel retailer Petrol generated EUR 5.2 billion in sales revenue in the first nine months of 2023, a 26% drop on the same period last year. Nevertheless, net profit almost quadrupled to EUR 95 million, shows the business report released on Friday.
Petrol says in the report that the drop in revenue was due to the "lower prices of petroleum products, the reduced volume of electricity and natural gas trading and the lower prices of electricity and natural gas on spot and futures markets."
The volume of fuels and petroleum products sold dropped by 6% to 2,87 million tonnes on account of the regulated petroleum product prices in 2022 which were lower than in the neighbouring countries for most of the period, the company added.
The group's sales of natural gas decreased by 13% to 11.4 TWh, the volume of electricity sold was down by 5% to 9.4 TWh, while in the merchandise and services segment, the group's sales revenue increased by 12% to EUR 430.1 million.
Petrol noted that the adjusted gross profit, which it says is a more suitable indicator of the group's performance, increased by 45% to EUR 544.3 million.
Operating costs increased by 19% to EUR 424 million, mainly as a consequence of the higher prices of energy commodities and labour costs.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) more than doubled year-on-year to EUR 201.9 million, mainly due to the "stabilisation in the fuel market and the resulting less strict price regulation."
Operating profit in the first nine months of the year stood at EUR 126.9 million, up almost five-fold compared to the same period last year, while net profit almost quadrupled to EUR 95 million.
"Despite the volatility and challenges on energy markets, the Petrol group's business performance was in line with expectations," the report says.
It quotes management board member Matija Bitenc in saying that "we believe that we can exceed the planned business results" in the 2023 annual plan "if there are no unexpected events by the end of the year", noting that the market has stabilised.
