No dividends from Astra Refinery

Astra Ploiesti Refinery will not be paying dividends this year, which is a first time since its 1998 floatation, as 2002 was a very bad year for its financial results. Turnover plunged to half the 2001 level, reaching 3,122bn ROL, while net profit lost more than 90%, down to 3bn ROL The company had posted 34bn ROL in net profit in 2001, and paid 20 ROL/share in dividends to its shareholders. Its 2003 plans include 185% increase in gross profit, which should therefore reach 17.5bn ROL, given that the refinery’s revenues are also expected to go up by 16% in nominal terms and exceed 4,000bn ROL. Astra was announcing a halt in production last year, due to a Government Ordinance on excises and compensations. It later went through a restructuring programme and laid off about 600 employees, so that it came to employ only 1,230 people at the end of last year. ZF