MOL Q2 Net Income Climbs 60%
Photo by MOL
Second-quarter net income of Hungarian oil and gas company MOL rose 60% year-on-year to HUF 298 billion as revenue growth outpaced the increase in overall costs, news agency MTI reports, citing an earnings report released ahead of the opening bell on Friday.
Excluding discontinued operation - MOL has agreed to divest its U.K. upstream assets - net income increased 40% to HUF 249.5 bln.
Total revenue rose 76% to HUF 2.495 tln. Cost of raw materials and consumables climbed 76% to HUF 1.857 tln, but total operating expenses increased just 67% to HUF 2.129 tln. Operating profit jumped 160% to HUF 365.9 bln.
Basic earnings per share came to HUF 435 for the period.
The operating profit of MOL's upstream business rose to HUF 200 bln from HUF 32 bln in the base period. The operating profit of the downstream business climbed to HUF 258.1 bln from HUF 104.7 bln. The operating profit of the consumer services division slipped to HUF 6.3 bln from HUF 39.4 bln.
MOL acknowledged that EBITDA of the consumer services business "collapsed" in Q2 due to fuel price regulation in various countries in Central and Eastern Europe and because of a retail tax in Hungary.
MOL chairman-CEO Zsolt Hernádi pointed to "unprecedented uncertainty" for the whole energy industry in Q2 and said MOL's "number one priority" during the period was maintaining security of supply.
"MOL's businesses suffer from the state interventions across Central and Eastern Europe, putting pressure on our financials and operations," he said but added that regulatory measures are not hindering MOL's investment plans and noted transformational projects to meet goals in the company's 2030+ strategy and a round of new investments that aim to diversify supply.
The company estimated that the impact of fuel price regulation and windfall taxes added up to USD 640 million in the first half, with 90% affecting operations in Hungary.
Taking into account first-half results, along with the windfall taxes and uncertainties in the external environment, MOL raised guidance for full-year EBITDA, adjusted for one-offs and at the current cost of supply, from around or above USD 2.8 bln to USD 3.3 bln.
MOL's clean ccs-based EBITDA, for continuing operations, was close to USD 2.2 bln in H1, the report shows.
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