ZAGREB, June 4 (Hina) - Croatia's oil company INA last year made a net profit of 96.06 million euros, which indicates a significant increase in the company's profitability, the company's management board president Tomislav Dragicevic
stated on Tuesday.
ZAGREB, June 4 (Hina) - Croatia's oil company INA last year made a
net profit of 96.06 million euros, which indicates a significant
increase in the company's profitability, the company's management
board president Tomislav Dragicevic stated on Tuesday. #L#
Presenting last year's financial results, Dragicevic said that in
2000 INA recorded a loss of 56.12 million euros. Dragicevic
believes that the increased profit in 2001 was mostly the result of
internal restructuring, the introduction of market prices for oil
products, and of decreased business costs.
INA Group made a profit of 47.82 million euros in 2001, which is 49
per cent more than in 2000, while CROSCO - the Group's largest
company - also made a profit.
Dragicevic says that the company, which currently employs 11,000
workers with a net monthly salary of 4,222 kuna (around EUR570), has
worked over the past two years on increasing its value and considers
that this has been achieved.
Asked about INA's real value, due to public speculation involving
different amounts, Dragicevic did not respond precisely, but said
that the different sums resulted from different evaluation
methods.
He was equally evasive about the fate of INA's company "White
Nights" in Russia. A third Russian bidder, the oil company TNK,
recently gave up the purchase of the company. Dragicevic only said
that to date seven or eight Russian oil companies had shown interest
in purchasing "White Fields" which INA was still adamant to sell.
He also commented on headlines that "White Nights" has been
incurring great losses, saying that the delay in the company's
business did not have any major effect on INA's operations. INA
purchased oil from "White Nights" at the market price and the
profits made by the company remained in "White Nights", he said.
Of a $US200 million loan the government approved INA last week,
$US130 million will be earmarked for investments, and around $US20
million will be used for various drilling projects, he said.
Last year, INA produced six per cent more natural gas than in 2000,
i.e. around 1.1 billion cubic metres. Dragicevic said that Ina
requested that the price of gas be increased by 15 per cent this
year, and the increase would be used to finance the construction of
the "Mala Gea" gas pipeline in the northern Adriatic.
INA has continued losing revenues because the price of gas has not
been adjusted to market conditions and these losses amount to
around $US117 million, Dragicevic said.
Last year INA manufactured more than 5.1 million tonnes of oil
products and the production of more valuable white oil products
accounted for 75 per cent of the overall production. INA's
objective is to increase the production of white oil products to 80
per cent of the overall production, because it makes refineries
more profitable, Dragicevic said.
(hina) sp sb rml