PKN Orlen’s Q1-09 earnings hit by decline in oil price, petrochemical margins

23-Apr-09

Poland’s largest oil refiner PKN Orlen is anticipating a fall in Q1-09 earnings by a decline in the value of oil inventories and narrower margins on petrochemicals. A decline in the value of oil stored in Orlen’s tanks cut earnings by as much as 300 mln zloty (US$88 mln) in the first quarter, compared with a 326 million-zloty gain in the comparable period of 2008. Profit from production of polyolefins and olefins declined, and volumes of petrochemical product sales dropped 2% to 1.26 mln tons.