Petroplus Holdings AG has reported an estimated clean net loss of $(80) million, or $(0.84) per share, for the three months ended June 30, 2011, compared to estimated clean net income of $35 million, or $0.40 per share, for the three months ended June 30, 2010.
Petroplus reported a net loss from continuing operations of $(187.7) million, or $(1.97) per share, for the three months ended June 30, 2011, compared to a net loss of $(93.6) million, or $(1.02) per share, for the three months ended June 30, 2010.
For the six months ended June 30, 2011, Petroplus reported a net loss from continuing operations of $(49.8) million, or $(0.52) per share, as compared to a net loss of $(111.3) million, or $(1.25) per share for the six months ended June 30, 2010.
Commenting on the results,
Jean-Paul Vettier, Petroplus’ Chief Executive Officer, said, “The second quarter was difficult, especially for this time of year, due to the extremely weak refining environment in Europe. Margins declined to below $2 per barrel during the quarter as product prices failed to keep pace with the rapid increase in crude prices due to soft demand amid an uncertain macroeconomic environment. Light-sweet crude differentials to Dated Brent also worsened in the quarter as the full impact of the lost Libyan crude supply was felt by the market. Margins came under additional pressure in June due to the IEA’s decision to release product stocks in Europe rather than crude stocks.
"Operationally, throughput was lower in the quarter as we decided to expand the scope of the maintenance work at Petit Couronne to take advantage of the lower opportunity cost resulting from lost throughput in the low-margin environment. As a result, the entire fuels complex was shut down for most of the quarter. We also decided to perform some maintenance at Coryton given the weak market, and this work lowered overall throughput and limited clean product conversion. Regrettably, these adverse elements partially mask a continuing structural improvement of our operating performance as part of our 3-Year Improvement Plan.”
Joseph D. Watson, Petroplus’ Chief Financial Officer, said, "Liquidity held up well during a difficult quarter. We ended the quarter with approximately $384 million in cash, no cash borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility, and with approximately $725 million in headroom under the RCF. Our headroom improved during the quarter due to lower crude supply requirements following the discontinuation of refining activities at Reichstett, as well as new trade credit from a number of our crude suppliers. As for the RCF, at June 30, 2011, our clean Group EBITDA to net interest expense coverage ratio was below the RCF covenant requirement of 2.5 to 1.0 due to the weak second quarter financial results. On July 27, 2011, we received unanimous consent from our RCF lenders granting us a waiver for the second quarter of 2011, which is a testament to the strength of our lender relationships. Our net debtto- net capitalization ratio at June 30, 2011, was approximately 43 percent, compared to 39 percent at March 31, 2011.
The shutdown of the Reichstett refinery was a cash-positive event for Petroplus in the quarter, as working capital liquidations of approximately $65 million exceeded restructuring outlays of about $15 million."
Vettier added, "Margins have remained weak during the third quarter to date, but have to some extent recovered from the lows in June. Margins should improve in the coming months as industry seasonal maintenance increases. As Petroplus has no planned major maintenance in the second half of the year, we should be able to capture any improvements in the refining market."