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Petroplus Holdings AG has reported an estimated clean net loss of $(15) million, or $(0.14) per share, for the three months ended March 31, 2011, compared to an estimated clean net loss of $(5) million, or $(0.06) per share, for the first quarter of 2010.

Petroplus reported a net loss from continuing operations of $(68.5) million, or $(0.72) per share, for the three months ended March 31, 2011, compared to a net loss of $(26.4) million, or $(0.31) per share, for the three months ended March 31, 2010.

Special items included in the loss for the period are non-cash impairment charges of $140.3 million, pre-tax, and net restructuring charges totaling $110.1 million, pre-tax, for the costs of discontinuing the Reichstett refinery operations.

Commenting on the results, Jean-Paul Vettier, Petroplus’ Chief Executive Officer, said, “Petroplus’ first quarter results can be viewed in a number of ways. On the one hand, market conditions unquestionably were weak, and we had heavy scheduled maintenance during the quarter. But despite these negative factors, our results were stronger than one might have expected.

"Outside the planned turnarounds, Petroplus’ refineries ran well during the quarter and continued to show progress through the 3-Year Improvement Plan. The market was difficult because product prices failed to keep pace with the dramatic increase in crude prices. This led to a squeeze in refining margins, which declined about 45% from fourth quarter levels. This turned out to be an advantageous time to undergo the heavy turnaround maintenance that Petroplus had planned for the year, with lower opportunity costs from the lost throughput and margin at Ingolstadt and Petit Couronne during the back half of the quarter. The other significant internal event for Petroplus during the quarter was the conclusion of the Reichstett consultation process, which occurred on March 31, within the ambitious time frame that we had set out.”

Joseph D. Watson, Petroplus’ Chief Financial Officer, said, “We ended the quarter with approximately $434 million in cash, a large increase from year-end mainly due to the return of the normal German excise duty payables profile, as well as strong first quarter operating cash flows from the sharp rise in crude prices. At March 31, 2011, we had no cash borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility and approximately $700 million in headroom under the facility. Our headroom improved during the quarter despite the sharp increase in crude price as we were able to increase some of our uncommitted lines in the facility, and we were purchasing less crude at the end of March due to the turnarounds at Ingolstadt and Petit Couronne. Our net debt-to-net capitalization ratio at March 31, 2011 improved to approximately 39 percent, compared to 43 percent at December 31, 2010, and we remain in compliance with all financial covenants under our RCF and bond indentures. We ended the quarter with approximately $175 million in net working capital at the Reichstett refinery, which we are now beginning to liquidate.”

Referring to the current three month period, Jean-Paul Vettier said, “During the second quarter to date, margins have remained volatile but have improved from the lows of the first quarter. We expect them to improve further in the coming weeks as the summer driving season begins and global economic activity continues to pick up. With no major maintenance planned for the rest of the year, Petroplus should be in a good position to capture whatever the market may bring.”