Amsterdam, July 18, 2006 — Fitch Ratings has raised today the outlook of The Rompetrol Group NV’s Issuer Rating (B-) from negative to stable, due to improved operational performance, better corporate governance and positive court decisions favoring the company and its main shareholders.
The announcement comes less than two weeks after Standard & Poor’s made a similar decision.
“The Rompetrol Group will continue to grow and the decisions taken by both rating agencies confirms that we are on the right path, despite the investigation conducted for the past three years against our main shareholders, an investigation which we trust will be brought to an end soon,” said TRG Chairman Dinu Patriciu.
In reevaluating the outlook, Fitch has noted that, although the investigation on the TRG managers continued last year, the company was able to attain record profits – EBITDA of 164 million USD.
The agency has also taken into consideration the structural changes made in the company’s management by implementing a two-tier management structure and appointing a new Supervisory Board with a majority of independent members. It also reflects the acquisition of Dyneff S.A. of France, which lead to TRG’s increased geographical diversification.
The Rompetrol Group N.V. is a multinational oil company headquartered in The Netherlands, operating in 12 countries, and with the majority of its assets and operations based in France, Romania, Spain and South-East Europe. The group is active primarily in refining and marketing/downstream, with additional operations in exploration and production, and other oil industry services such as drilling, EPCM, transportation, etc. With a staff of more than 8,000 employees, TRG estimates for 2006 gross revenues of about $6 billion. TRG aims to become one of the largest independent oil companies in Europe and obtain a strong position in the Black Sea and Mediterranean areas.