Rompetrol Group Swings To $0.9M Net Profit In 1Q

Romania’s second largest oil group Rompetrol Tuesday said it switched to a net profit of $900,000 in the first quarter, from a loss of $56.2 million in the year-earlier period.

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It was the first positive figure in nearly three years, the Dutch-registered oil group said in a statement.

"After nearly three years of negative results on the backdrop of the economic crisis, the Rompetrol Group reported net profit in the first quarter of 2011, which shows that its reorganizational and cost-control measures started to produce the desired results" the statement noted.

Rompetrol group reported operating profit of $47.5 million in January to March, versus losses of $7.5 million in the same period a year earlier. Operating costs rose to $99.1 million, from $85.7 million in the first quarter of 2010.

The group's turnover reached nearly $2.04 billion in the first quarter, up 29% from $1.58 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Rompetrol's refining arm Rompetrol Rafinare (RRC.RO) and its subsidiaries reported a loss of $11.3 million in January to March, significantly narrower from $57.3 million in the first quarter of 2010.

However, Rompetrol Rafinare swung to operating profit of $46.1 million in the first quarter, from a loss of $19.6 million in the previous year. The company's operating costs rose to $74.6 million, from $67 million in the first quarter of 2010.

Rompetrol Rafinare posted turnover of $1.07 billion in the first quarter, up from roughly $842 million in the same period a year ago.

The figures are consolidated, preliminary and subject to possible modifications pending the official quarterly report due May 12, Rompetrol said in its statement.

At around GMT1246 in Bucharest, Rompetrol Rafinare traded down 1% at RON0.056 a share.

The Rompetrol Group, owned by Kazakh oil company KazMunayGas, runs businesses in 12 countries, with most of its assets and operations based in Romania, France, Spain and southeast Europe.

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