ORLEN Group posted record-high LIFO-based EBITDA of PLN 3.2bn, up by PLN 1.2bn (y/y) for the Q2 of 2021. The strong market position of the Group has also been confirmed by the net profit of PLN 2.2bn and 73% (y/y) growth in revenue to PLN 29.4 bn. The power generation and petrochemical segments had the greatest impact on ORLEN Group’s results. More than half of ORLEN Group’s sales revenues come from foreign markets.
– ORLEN Group’s record-breaking result proves that our vision of a strong multi-utility company based on several business areas is coherent, effectively implemented, and fully meets the contemporary challenges of the Oil&Gas industry (…) Each segment is already profitable and actively supports our strategic vision, – says Daniel Obajtek, President of the PKN ORLEN Management Board.
In the second quarter of 2021, ORLEN Group generated record-high operating cash flows of PLN 5.1bn, resulting in a PLN 2bn net debt decrease (q/q), despite the substantial capital expenditure of PLN 2.4bn. Following the success of the domestic bonds, PKN ORLEN took intensive efforts in the second quarter of 2021 to benefit from foreign funds as well.
As many as 2,239 service stations (approx. 80% of the entire network) are already complete with the StopCafe/star Connect non-fuel format, including 1,730 in Poland, 315 in the Czech Republic, 151 in Germany, 29 in Lithuania, and 14 in Slovakia. PKN ORLEN also developed the alternative fuel infrastructure, increasing its availability by 104 points (y/y). As a result, there are now 278 alternative refueling points available to customers, including 232 EV charging stations, 2 hydrogen refueling stations, and 44 CNG stations.
Over the first 6 months of 2021, ORLEN Group allocated as much as PLN 4.2 billion to investments. In the second quarter of 2021, capital investment and acquisition processes carried out by PKN ORLEN entered a key stage. The construction of the Research & Development Centre was completed, which will facilitate more effective development of new technologies and products, building own know-how, as well as obtaining patents for innovative solutions. At that time PKN ORLEN launched a new project under the Petrochemical Development Programme – the Olefins III Complex – the completion of which will enable the Company to increase its operating EBITDA by approximately PLN 1bn annually. The contractor for the largest petrochemical investment in Europe in the last 20 years will be a consortium of Hyundai Engineering and Técnicas Reunidas.
In the second quarter, PKN ORLEN also undertook key actions, which constitute a significant step towards zero-emission power generation and will improve Poland’s energy security. The agreement signed with Synthos provides for cooperation in the development and implementation of zero-emission nuclear technologies based on micro and small modular reactors (MMRs and SMRs). As part of its support for Poland’s energy transformation, PKN ORLEN continued the project to build a gas-fired power plant in Ostrołęka.
The Orlen Group’s dynamic development led to an over twofold increase in the value of the ORLEN brand, to PLN 10 bn, as compared to the previous edition of “Rzeczpospolita” ranking of the most valuable Polish brands.