OMV, the Austrian oil and gas company which is 25 per cent owned by Abu Dhabi’s Ipic, yesterday reported fourth quarter profit exceeding forecasts.
The company said it was helped by refining and petrochemicals, which includes a stake in the Borouge petrochemicals plant in Abu Dhabi.
But the good numbers for downstream and some increase in upstream production volumes could not mask a poor year for OMV, which was hit by a halving of oil prices in the second half of the year and disruptions to upstream operations in Yemen and Libya.
The company reported “clean” earnings (before interest and tax and ignoring changes in the value of inventory) of €545 million (Dh2.27 billion) in the fourth quarter, up 23 per cent from the year-earlier quarter. Analysts had forecast a profit of about €487m.
The full-year profit of €2.2bn was down 15 per cent on the year before.
OMV’s chief executive, Gerhard Roiss, told investors that the outlook was “challenging”, and the company is expecting oil prices in the coming year to remain in a US$50 to $60 per barrel range. Mr Roiss said that the company plans to reduce annual capital expenditure over the next three years to between €2.5bn and €3bn, from €3.9bn last year, with the range dependent on oil prices.
He also said that he expects refining margins to come down this year.
OMV’s refining margins in the second half of last year nearly quadrupled to above $5 per barrel on a combination of lower oil prices and gains made from the consolidation of the company’s downstream operations.
The rationalisation of downstream, headed by Manfred Leitner, who also took over the gas and power division, involved selling off €1bn of “non-core” assets to concentrate on its three main refineries in Romania and Austria.
Mr Leitner told investors that the company was reviewing the power and gas business, which reported a fourth quarter “clean” profit down 49 per cent on the year at €41m, and adding that OMV would make announcements about asset sales later in the year.
Borouge in Abu Dhabi is owned by Adnoc and Borealis, which in turn is 64 per cent owned by Ipic and 36 per cent by OMV.
Mr Leitner said that Borealis contributed €51m to OMV earnings in the fourth quarter, down slightly on the year, but he added that the Borouge 3 expansion was completed in the fourth quarter and will more than double output this year.
Last year, OMV’s management came under severe pressure from shareholders, including the Austrian government, which owns the largest stake at 31.5 per cent.
Part of its efforts to restructure has included a focus on more stable areas of upstream operation. Its Libya exposure means it cannot predict whether production this year will fall to 300,000 barrels per day, from 318,000 bpd in the fourth quarter, or rise to 340,000 bpd, the company’s head of upstream, Jaap Huijskes, admitted to investors.
amcauley@thenational.ae
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Last five meetings
2013: South Korea 0-2 Brazil
2002: South Korea 2-3 Brazil
1999: South Korea 1-0 Brazil
1997: South Korea 1-2 Brazil
1995: South Korea 0-1 Brazil
Note: All friendlies
Dr Graham's three goals
Short term
Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines
Intermediate term
Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations
Long term
A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Results:
First Test: New Zealand 30 British & Irish Lions 15
Second Test: New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
Third Test: New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
Specs
Engine: 2-litre
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 255hp
Torque: 273Nm
Price: Dh240,000
How Apple's credit card works
The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.
What does it cost?
Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.
What will the interest rate be?
The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts
What about security?
The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.
Is it easy to use?
Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.
* Associated Press
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Equaliser 2
Director Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Denzel Washington, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Ashton Sanders
Three stars
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
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Spare
Profile
Company name: Spare
Started: March 2018
Co-founders: Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah
Based: UAE
Sector: FinTech
Investment: Own savings. Going for first round of fund-raising in March 2019
