Hellenic Petrol H1 net down on recession, oil stocks

Hellenic Petroleum, Greece's biggest refiner, said on Tuesday first-half profit dropped to 59 mln euros from 141 mln last year, hurt by the country's recession, taxes and the lower value of oil stocks.
Net profit missed analysts' average estimate of 66.6 mln euros in a Reuters poll after a higher than provisioned one-off austerity tax of 33 mln euros, imposed by Greece's cash-strapped government.
Recession in Greece has continued weighing on oil product consumption, which has dropped at a double-digit rate this year after the government increased fuel taxes by about 50% to shore up its ailing finances.
Results were also affected by forex-related losses of 66 mln euros and by an additional 8 million euros due to the lower value of the company's oil inventories.
However, EBITDA gained to 292 mln euros from 251 mln last year, helped by higher refining margins and cost cuts. This beat analysts' average estimate of 276 mln.
"Despite the recent developments in the Greek market, the group continues to benefit from its strong financial position," Hellenic said in a statement.
Hellenic said it would maintain its policy of paying an interim dividend of 15 cents a share. Its 1.1 bln euro investment to upgrade refineries is on track, it said.
Its northern Greece Thessaloniki refinery will stop operations for programmed maintenance in the first quarter of 2011.