OMV, the Austrian oil-and-gas company, reported a decrease in profit for the third quarter of this year. The decline in margins can be attributed to the shrinking raw material and energy prices. The net profit for the quarter stood at 474 million euros ($503.2 million), compared to 833 million euros in the previous year. On an adjusted basis, the profit was 431 million euros.
Chief Executive Alfred Stern commented on the results, stating, "We have observed a normalization of our results in the first nine months of 2023 due to the drop in commodity prices from the unsustainably high levels seen in the previous year. Additionally, the chemicals sector has experienced a softening driven by weaker consumer demand."
Hydrocarbon production also witnessed a decline from 381,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) in the year-earlier period to 364,000 boe/d. OMV confirmed that it expects production to reach 360,000 boe/d for the full year, primarily due to the exclusion of Russian volumes and natural decline, particularly in Norway and Romania.
The company reported a decrease in quarterly sales from 17.17 billion euros to 9.47 billion euros, mainly influenced by significantly lower market prices.
OMV's outlook remains positive, as it expects the average Brent crude price to exceed $80 per barrel in 2023, as compared to its earlier estimate of between $75/bbl and $80/bbl. The average realized gas price is still expected to be around 30 euros per megawatt-hour.
