Hernádi: MOL to diversify business in future

Deals

Oil provided an opportunity to establish a market presence, but growth opportunities centered around petrol and diesel trade are limited while an oil refinery produces 50 other products that can be used in chemical plants or sold off in more than 40 countries, MOL chairman-CEO Zsolt Hernádi said in an interview with Hungarian news agency MTI today, speaking about the company’s strategy.

MOL chairman-CEO Zsolt Hernádi speaks to MTI today. (Photo: MTI / Kovács Tamás)

Aside from expanding its retail operations in the region, MOL is already considering developing its value chain as an integral part of its strategy. The inauguration of a HUF 35 bln butadiene plant in Tiszaújváros, eastern Hungary, a few days ago, the synthetic rubber plant under construction and the continuous improvement of the efficiency of the various divisions are all part of that plan, said Hernádi.

The chairman-CEO noted that regional expansion opportunities have their limits. In the downstream industry PKN Orlen, OMV and MOL have emerged as dominant players, but further market concentration would lead to competition concerns, which makes it probable that things will remain like this in the long term.

Hernádi said MOLʼs operations are still centered around Central and Eastern Europe, despite write-downs in Syria proving to be the biggest financial loss and the performance of the upstream segment in Pakistan the biggest success for the company recently.

Due to low oil prices, MOL is recalculating the profitability of every element of its portfolio, but with its financial background, this does not necessarily mean they will have to sell assets. MOL is still spending considerable amounts of capital on exploration and they will only consider selling licenses where there are serious doubts.

The chairman-CEO talked about the future of MOLʼs stake in Croatian oil and gas company INA, saying MOL is not in a position to buy in part or in whole the Croatian governmentʼs share in INA until the government creates an investor-friendly environment and strives for cooperation with INA. Hernádi also noted that several parties have expressed interest in buying MOLʼs stake, with the latest offer made this spring.

Hungary Account Deficit at EUR 561 mln in Q4 Debt

Hungary Account Deficit at EUR 561 mln in Q4

Moldovan Pensions to be Increased as of April 1 World

Moldovan Pensions to be Increased as of April 1

Schoenherr Names Miklós Klenanc as Head of Local M&A Practic... Appointments

Schoenherr Names Miklós Klenanc as Head of Local M&A Practic...

Hungarian Wine Marketing Agency to Host Summit Drinks

Hungarian Wine Marketing Agency to Host Summit

SUPPORT THE BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL

Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For 27 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.
Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.