Key achievements
- INA Group’s CCS operating profit amounted to HRK 1,318 million, 4% above the level in 2014, while net profit amounted to HRK 359 million
- Continued trend of growth of domestic crude production: increase of 21% compared to Q1-Q3 2014
- Stable financial position of the Company with a further 26% reduction in net debt compared to Q1-Q3 2014
- Domestic investments account for over 82% of CAPEX which amounted to HRK 973 million
- Refinery production increased by 11% and refined product sales by 6%
INA Group’s result in Q1-Q3 2015 proved strong having in mind the impact halved Brent had on INA. The downstream segment was supported by external conditions, while the strengthening of USD also has a strong positive impact on results in HRK terms. The financial position of the Company continues to strengthen in line with trends registered during previous years as gearing reached a record low of 19.5, while a 26% reduction in net debt brought it below HRK 3 billion.
In the Exploration & Production segment, overall production volumes registered an increase of 8%, with domestic crude oil production increase by 21% after performed workovers and well optimisation. In Q1-Q3 2015, EBITDA reached HRK 2,454 million, which was 16% lower than last year, as production results were offset by the decreased realised hydrocarbon prices of 29% and Brent price decrease of 48%. The lower realised prices were partially mitigated with favourable FX changes. Exploration and Production segment’s CAPEX in period Q1-Q3 2015 amounted to HRK 560 million. Capital investments in Croatia amounted to HRK 441 million and capital investments abroad HRK 119 million.
In Q1-Q3 2015 Refining & Marketing (including Retail) CCS-based EBITDA moved into the positive territory to reach to HRK 179 million, while EBITDA amounted to HRK (375) million, a considerable improvement over the Q1-Q3 2014 level. The result was driven by a sustained favourable external environment due to drop of crude price, improved refinery margins, higher total sales on captive markets together with higher export market realization, positive effect of lower energy costs and a continued crude slate optimization with higher utilization of refining units. Total capital expenditures amounted to HRK 274 million in Q1-Q3 2015, HRK 30 million higher compared to same period 2014. Refining and Marketing capital expenditures amounted to HRK 208 million and mainly related to logistics projects, while Retail segment expenditures reached HRK 66 million, being 8 HRK million above the same period in 2014.
President of the Management Board of INA Mr. Zoltán Áldott said: “We managed to increase INA’s CCS EBITDA by 4% to HRK 2.7 billion in the first three quarters of 2015, in an environment which sees oil prices halved compared to the same period last year. INA’s investment performance remains robust taking into account the low oil price environment with close to one billion kunas invested in Q1-Q3 2015. Management efforts demonstrated success in increasing hydrocarbon production with domestic oil output up by 21% versus the base period, having reversed the natural depletion of our mature fields. This environment has been more favourable for INA’s refining segment, although the result is still not positive. Increased level of refinery production has taken advantage of the improved crack spread environment.
We increased our refined product sales in all of our markets (Croatia by 1%, Bosnia and Herzegovina by 2%, Slovenia by 23%) boosting export sales significantly, by 12% i.e. 149 thousand tons. Retail sales remain stable while ongoing processes aim to improve the operational efficiency of the segment.”