OMV Petrom operating profit falls 57% due to lower prices and regulatory pressures

The Romanian oil-and-gas group OMV Petrom announced a 57% drop in its adjusted operating profit for the fourth quarter on Tuesday. It cited lower commodity prices as well as the impact of regulations for gas and electricity.

Bucharest listed company reported an operating profit adjusted of 955 millions lei ($197.61) down from 2.24 milliards lei a year ago.

The clean operating result is calculated based on current costs of supply and excludes special items, short-term gains or losses, and energy inventory holdings.

OMV Petrom is majority owned by Austrian OMV. The company reported a weaker performance in all segments during the third quarter. This was due to lower oil prices, lower sales volumes, regulatory changes that reduced margins, and declines in refining and sale margins.

OMV Petrom is expected to pay 250 million leis in 2025 for a turnover tax that was introduced in 2024. This compares with 216 million leis last year. A new 1% construction tax that went into effect in 2025 will have a significant impact on the middle double figures of millions of euros.

The company plans to invest around 8 billion lei this year, provided that regulations and taxes are stable. Most of the money will be directed at the Neptun Deep Project as well as zero- and low-carbon projects.

Neptun Deep is a Black Sea off-shore gas project that will start production in 2027. It holds a gas reserve of 100 billion cubic metres, which makes it one of Europe's largest natural gas reserves.

(source: Reuters)