Slovenian fuel retailer Petrol H1 net profit halved (updated)

Petrol dd Ljubljana

28/08/2020 07:46

* Profit fell by 49% to 20.6 mln euros
    * Targets for 2020 will not be met
    * New 2021-2025 strategy seen in Q4 2020

 (Updates with quote, details)
    LJUBLJANA, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Slovenia's largest fuel
retailer Petrol  PETG.LJ  said its group net profit in the first
half of the year fell by 49% to 20.6 million euros ($24.44
million) on lower sales amid the coronavirus epidemic.
    Sales fell by 28% to 1.5 billion euros, the company said in
a statement on Friday, adding it will not meet its targets for
2020 which were set in December when Petrol forecast a net
profit of 109.8 million euros in 2020.
    "In March 2020 the business environment deteriorated
considerably with the start of the coronavirus pandemic," Petrol
said in a statement.
    "In order to contain the pandemic, countries imposed
restrictions on movement between countries, as well as local
communities, which led to significant declines in sales of oil
products," it added.
    The company plans to adopt a new operating strategy for 2021
to 2025 in the last quarter of this year. In the first half of
2020 sales of oil products fell by 18% to 1.5 million tonnes.
    Petrol operates about 510 filling stations in Slovenia,
Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo.
    Slovenia has so far reported 2,755 coronavirus cases and 133
deaths.
    
($1 = 0.8427 euros)

 (Reporting By Marja Novak; editing by David Evans)
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