Romania's OMV Petrom pays H1 taxes of roughly 9 bln lei

OMV Petrom SA

28/07/2023 09:35

July 28 (Reuters) - Romania's top oil and gas firm OMV
Petrom  ROSNP.BX , controlled by Austria's OMV  OMVV.VI , paid
the Romanian government taxes worth roughly 9 billion lei ($2
billion) in the first half of 2023, chief financial officer
Alina Popa said on Friday.
    In May, Romanian lawmakers amended legislation to ensure OMV
Petrom pays an additional tax on the crude oil it refines,
adding a burden to the group's bottom line. 
    OMV Petrom said that as a result it paid around 1.5 billion
lei in additional tax in the second quarter, its solidarity
contribution on refined crude oil for 2022.
    "Just to underline the importance of the fiscal and
regulatory framework, I would mention three relevant figures for
the first six months: net profit of 0.9 billion lei, investment
of 2.4 billion lei, and taxes, fees and contributions of almost
9 billion lei," Popa told a news conference.
    OMV Petrom, which has repeatedly called for a stable fiscal
framework from the state, earlier reported a net loss
attributable to shareholders of 537 mln lei in the second
quarter, driven by lower energy prices and the shut-down of
production units for scheduled maintenance.
    Popa also said after the earnings release that OMV Petrom
would distribute record high dividends worth 5.1 billion lei to
shareholders this year. 
    This includes a base dividend of 0.0375 lei per share that
was paid in June and a proposed special dividend of 0.0450 lei
per share.
    Shares in OMV Petrom were trading down 0.55% at 0.5470 lei
at 0810 GMT.
($1 = 4.4956 lei)

 (Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Jason Hovet and Conor
Humphries)
 ((luiza.ilie@thomsonreuters.com; +4021 527 0312; https://www.reuters.com/journalists/luiza-ilie))