Amsterdam, July 6, 2006-- Standard & Poor’s (S&P) rating agency revised its outlook on The Rompetrol Group NV (TRG) to stable from negative, following the improvement of the operational performance of the company and the rejection by Romanian Courts of the prosecutors’ request regarding preventive custody of the TRG main shareholders.
“The improvement of the rating outlook is confirming once again the fact that Rompetrol is a strong company, despite the abusive treatment its management has been subjected to by the Romanian Prosecutor’s Office during the past two years of investigations. We are confident that the Courts will have the final say and we will continue unabated on our path to develop TRG into a major European corporation,” said TRG Chairman, Dinu Patriciu.
The S&P report shows that TRG reported very good financial results last year. The operational profit (EBITDA) increased to $164 million in 2005 compared to $94 million in 2004.
The rating agency also appreciates as positive the changes in TRG’s Supervisory Board, which will include three independent members and a representative of the company’s main creditor.
Along with the improvement of the outlook, S&P re-affirmed the B- rating granted to TRG.
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.