Consolidated net profit of the joint stock company Ventspils nafta Group (VN) reached LVL 29.7 million in 2008; the group posted LVL 63.1 million consolidated net turnover, as LETA was informed by the company's spokeswoman, Gundega Varpa.
Profit for VN Group's parent company in 2008 was over LVL 40 million, according to audited results.
The consolidated profit of VN Group in 2008 exceeded the 2007 results ( LVL 5.3 million) almost six times; the Group’s consolidated net turnover was LVL 3.1 million larger than planned for in the 2008 budget.
As reported, in 2007 VN posted LVL 49.6 million profit and LVL 82 million net turnover.
"Due to the global and national economic turmoil, 2008 presented numerous challenges and complicated issues for VN Group. This led to an immediate assessment and reevaluation of the company’s future plans to allow for a rapid response and to deliver maximum efficiency – resulting in sustainable and optimal future plans,” emphasized the Chairperson of the Management Board for VN Olga Petersone. "However, the first six months of 2009 have proved that this will be a tough year for many companies and only the most competitive will survive," she added.
As a result of a comprehensive risk analysis, the VN Supervisory Council approved a development strategy for the company, which foresees focusing on the development of transit industry assets as opposed to a broader diversification strategy previously pursued by the VN Group.
As of the beginning of 2009, the group is primarily investing in the key transit areas – transportation, storage, transshipment of crude oil and petroleum products, as well as the international shipping business.
The VN subsidiary Ventspils nafta terminals (VNT) maintained stable cargo volume level in the reporting period by transshipping in total more than 11.6 million tons of crude oil and petroleum products. Events in the global economy, negative trends in the global oil market in the last months of the reporting period and the international competition in the transit sector have had and will continue to have a significant impact on the operating results of VNT which were also affected for several months in the reporting period by the repair works of the main petroleum products pipeline Polotsk-Ventspils in the territory of Belarus, which resulted in a reduced diesel fuel flow to Ventspils.