In the first nine months of the current year LatRosTrans (LRT) has shown 1.17 million LVL operating profit – for the first time since Russia stopped crude oil transportation via the crude oil pipelines in the territory of Latvia in 2006.

“This year we have completed the restructuring of the enterprise, and the reforms carried out have had a positive impact on the performance of the enterprise. The forecasts of the enterprise show that LRT will finish this year with 5.4 million LVL EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization), which is a very good achievement. This indicator is planned 50% higher than in 2011 and will be achieved owing to the turnover growth and cost reduction,” – emphasized LRT CEO Igors Stepanovs when presenting today the results of the company’s operations.

“At present the attachment of the entire crude oil, which hampered the activities of the enterprise during the last two years, has been lifted. Therefore now we can focus on conquering a new business niche,” – that’s how I. Stepanovs outlines the company’s future prospects.

The company’s performance has been improved also due to the investments in the safety of the oil product pipeline, which resulted in the reduced number of illegal connections that, among other things, have a serious negative impact on the environment. “We are thankful to the Latvian police for cooperation and effective activities for catching the criminals who attempted to tap into the oil product pipeline in organized groups,” – emphasizes I. Stepanovs.

LRT turnover in the 9 months of the current year amounted to 8.8 million LVL, which is 6% more than in the corresponding period of the previous year. LRT forecasts that the annual turnover will amount to 12.2 million LVL, exceeding 2011 indicator by 20%.

The oil product transportation volumes in the first 9 months of 2012 amounted to 4.6 million tons, which is about 80% of the transportation capacity of the oil product pipeline.
 

Information about LatRosTrans
LLC LatRosTrans owns two crude oil pipelines in the territory of the Republic of Latvia – Polotsk-Mazeikiai and Polotsk-Ventspils, which have not been used in recent years for the transit pumping of crude oil. In turn, the Polotsk – Ventspils oil product pipeline belonging to LLC LatRosTrans is actively used at present for transportation of diesel fuel.
LLC LatRosTrans is the biggest Latvian-Russian joint venture in the Baltic states. The Russian partner – OJSC AK Transnefteprodukt (daughter company of JSC АК Transneft) – owns 34% of the company’s shares, while 66% of the shares belong to the joint-stock company Ventspils nafta (NASDAQ OMX RIGA: VNF1R).

Additional information:
Ilze Nagla
Head of PR Department
JSC Ventspils nafta
Tel.: +371-29267454, +371-67715914
E-mail: ilze.nagla@vnafta.lv