Fuel volumes down by 35-40% across the MOL network in April
USD 152mn net loss reported for Q1 on the back of large foreign exchange losses and inventory losses caused by weaker HUF and the plunging oil prices.
Large inventory and foreign exchange losses resulted in MOL reporting a USD 152mn net loss for Q1, the first sign of the pandemic-related crisis.
Underlying operations were running strong until mid-March, until the pandemic affected all lines of business by the last 2-3 weeks of March and the situation further deteriorated in April. Due to the unpredictable external environment, 2020 EBITDA guidance was withdrawn, and organic capital expenditure guidance was cut by more than 25%.
Fuel volumes were down in April by around 35-40% across the network, sales have started to slowly improve recently. Non-fuel sales and margin initially declined, but grocery sales improved in the last few weeks and assortment was widened. Recent non-fuel performance is only 10-20% below last year’s level, according to MOL.
“While we are fighting the pandemic and doing our best to protect our people, our customers and partners, we are also working hard to make sure MOL can continue to operate even under extreme scenarios and can eventually emerge even stronger from this crisis. We have already made a series of difficult decisions that will help us to achieve cash neutrality, to maintain our liquidity and financial flexibility and to grab opportunities which may arise on the way towards normalization,” commented Chairman-CEO Zsolt Hernádi.
MOL Group operates three refineries and two petrochemicals plants under integrated supply chain management in Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia, and owns a network of 1,900 service stations across 10 countries in Central & South Eastern Europe.
