Oil Refineries Ltd. (TASE:ORL) today published its consolidated financial report for the first quarter of 2007. Three months after the company’s privatization, it reported fairly stable results, compared with the corresponding quarter of 2006.
Oil Refineries posted NIS 4.79 billion revenue for the first quarter, down 4.5% on the NIS 5.03 billion for the corresponding quarter. Gross profit rose to NIS 460.2 million for the first quarter from NIS 426.5 million for the corresponding quarter, but net profit fell 36% to NIS 150 million from NIS 236 million. The main reason for the drop in net profit was a net accounting expense of NIS 105 million for the privatization grant to the company’s employees. Without this one-time expense, the first quarter net profit would have totaled NIS 256 million, slightly more than for the corresponding quarter.
Oil Refineries reported a refining margin of $9.20 per barrel for the first quarter, compared with $7.30 for the corresponding quarter. However, the company’s one-time costs offset this increase, resulting in the smaller first quarter net profit. However, now that the company is in private hands, streamlining measures can be expected to be implemented quickly.
Oil Refineries chairman Ohad Marani said, “During the quarter, Oil Refineries operated for the first time independently of the Ashdod refinery, and we’ve begun to spot many opportunities thanks to the developments in the fuel market. We believe that Oil Refineries is ready to exploit this range of business opportunities which lies before it.”
A consortium of Israel Corp. (TASE: ILCO) with Israel Petrochemical Enterprises Ltd. (TASE:PTCH) and Glencore International AG acquired control of Oil Refineries in February at a company value $1.57 billion. Israel Corp. will initially control the company on its own until Glencore can obtain a control permit. Glencore will reportedly obtain the control permit within a few weeks.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on May 29, 2007
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