PLN 1bn was the EBITDA generated by Grupa LOTOS S.A. in the first half of 2011, when its revenue hit a record figure of nearly PLN 13.3bn. Higher sales, higher crude oil prices and a weaker dollar were among the factors which allowed the Company to generate a net profit of PLN 889m.

“The new installations constructed as part of the 10+ Programme have enabled us to produce more, and what is more important, to achieve higher margins on higher value added products. Growing demand in Poland for diesel oil has confirmed that the development strategy adopted by LOTOS was right,” said Paweł Olechnowicz, President of Grupa LOTOS S.A.

Consumption of diesel oil in Poland rose in the first half of 2011 by 9.8% relative to the same period of the previous year.
Operating profit was PLN 733.7m, up by 72.9% year on year. Revenue rose by 53.8%.

Good financial results in the petroleum exploration and production business were also attributable to a successful acquisition of a Lithuanian production company AB Geonafta in the first quarter of the year.
Total volume of crude oil sold in H1 2011 by LOTOS Group’s production segment was 976.1 thousand barrels, including 306.0 thousand barrels (39.6 thousand tonnes) of crude oil from the Lithuanian fields sold outside the Group.

Tangible effects of the 10+ Programme
The second quarter of 2011 was the first period when all the 10+ Programme installations, gradually coming on stream between 2009 and Q1 2011, were in operation.
In H1 2011, the volume of crude processed by the Gdańsk refinery rose by 20.9% (yoy), as the second integrated crude oil distillation unit (CDU/VDU) constructed as part of the 10+ Programme came on stream. The 10+ Programme was specially designed with a view to ensuring increase in production of diesel oil.

In connection with the optimisation of crude oil processing and use of the new crude oil distillation unit, the share of crude grades other than Urals in total production rose by 203.2% compared with the same period of 2010.
Higher production and sales
The overall production increase and the 21.3% sales volume growth compared with the same period of the previous year were some of the key features in H1 2011.

Stronger crude price increase in the western markets compared with the eastern markets contributed to a higher Brent/Urals differential. Its 159.7% increase, from 1.19 to 3.09 USD/bbl, between the first half of 2011 and the first half of 2010, had a positive effect in the Company’s financial performance.
In H1 2011, Grupa LOTOS S.A. again strengthened its foothold in the domestic fuels market, to 33.4%, up by 2.1% compared with December 2010.

The first LOTOS Optima service stations launched in Warsaw in July have been selling quantities of fuels comparable with those recorded by the premium service stations, which, next to the PB95 gasoline and diesel oil, also sell the Dynamic fuels.
“The sales volumes we recorded a month after the launch of the LOTOS Optima stations were a materialisation of the most optimistic scenario of our businessplan – Maciej Szozda, Vice-President of the Management Board, Chief Commercial Officer, has summed up. – This is the best evidence that LOTOS Optima has perfectly matched the market expectations and that the “best quality at optimum price” slogan has won approval from customers.

Marcin Zachowicz, spokesperson for Grupa LOTOS S.A., ul. Elbląska 135, 80-718 Gdańsk, Poland, tel. +48 58 308 75 70, +48 505 050 454, e-mail: marcin.zachowicz@grupalotos.pl