OMV Petrom reported a net profit of 4.03 billion RON in 2023, down 61 percent compared to 2022 amid high prices in the energy market, according to the financial report for last year.

The operating result in 2023 decreased to 7.55 billion RON, compared to 12 billion RON in 2022, largely due to lower market prices and lower availability of assets, as a result of planned maintenance activities, mainly at the Petrobrazi refinery and the Brazi power plant, the company said.

Christina Verchere, CEO of OMV Petrom, said: “2023 was a remarkable year for the implementation of OMV Petrom’s 2030 Strategy. The Neptun Deep project entered the development phase, and we expanded our portfolio of green projects.

In the context of less favorable market conditions in 2023, which followed the unprecedented commodity prices in 2022, and in the context of the planned revisions, we achieved an operating result CCA excluding special items of 8.5 billion RON, by capitalizing on our model operational. During the same period, our contribution to the state budget remained high, at 16 billion RON, including the distribution of record dividends.

In 2023, we intensified investments, to almost 5 billion RON, 30 percent more than in 2022. We plan to continue in this direction, entering the period with the highest investments in the company’s history, with an annual average of 8 billion lei for the following years, paying progressive dividends at the same time.

In 2024, we plan to continue preparations for the first drilling in the Neptun Deep project, which we estimate will take place in 2025. We also continue to focus on the gradual increase of electricity production from renewable sources and the expansion of our regional network of stations of charging for electric vehicles at 1,000 charging points, thus becoming the biggest player in the field of electromobility in Romania.”