Hellenic Q3 Core Profit Falls 15%

Hellenic Petroleum's core profit fell 15% in the third quarter on lower refining margins, Greece's biggest oil refiner said on Tuesday.

Adjusted for oil inventory holdings, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at 201 million euros ($222.91 million), down from 237 million euros in the same period last year.

The figure was at the high end of analysts' forecasts from a Reuters poll.

Hellenic, which exports more than half of its output, has said that it was on track to deliver very low sulphur fuel oil by the beginning of 2020 to meet demand for the new fuel.

From Jan. 1 next year the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will prohibit ships from using fuels with sulphur content above 0.5%, compared with 3.5% today, unless they are equipped with exhaust gas cleaning systems.

On Tuesday Hellenic said its 148,000 barrel per day refinery in Aspropyrgos was expected to move to the new operating model for very low sulphur fuel oil this month, adding that "a material part of feedstock" required for that has been secured. 

(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Jan Harvey)