MOL Romania Market Share Widens, Despite Sales Stagnation

05.19.2011 By Andrei Circhelan

The sales of Hungarian oil group MOL stagnated in the first quarter in Romania, compared to the same interval of 2010, but its market share registered a slight increase, the company said Thursday.

Fuel card sales volumes increased by 1.1% on the year, showing slight recovery after the economic crisis, while ship sales revenue rose 9.2% on the year, calculated in lei.

At the end of March, MOL Romania operated a network of 127 gas stations, compared to 127 at the end of 2010. In April, the group launched two gas stations.

Retail capital expense stood at 1.2 billion forints ($6.4 million) in January-March, including HUF300 million ($1.6 million) in Romania, MOL wrote in its report.

On a group level, net revenue from sales rose 31% to $5.9 billion in the first quarter.

Net profit jumped to $465 million, from $98 million in the first quarter of 2010, backed by higher oil prices and a record crude output of more than 150,000 barrels per day.

The MOL group operates in 40 countries with a network of 1,630 gas stations.