- Clean CCS EBITDA highest ever at USD 893mn in Q2, 153% more than a year ago
- H1 Clean CCS EBITDA reached USD 1,559mn, 60% higher year-on-year
- Upstream Q2 EBITDA tripled and Downstream result more than quadrupled compared to the second quarter of 2020
- Consumer Services reached its highest-ever Q2 EBITDA, USD 164mn
- All strategic projects progressed well, organic capital expenditure was higher both Q2 and H1 than last year, reaching USD 356mn in Q2, as utilization normalized
- Group-level simplified free-cash-flow increased significantly in H1 compared to last year to USD 922mn as all core segments generated positive contribution in the first half-year and well exceeded even the pre-pandemic performance level
- Full-year EBITDA guidance upgraded to „around USD 3 bn” from „around USD 2.3 bn”.
Today MOL Group announced its financial results for H1 and Q2 2021. In the first six months, MOL Group delivered USD 1,559mn EBITDA while in Q2 Clean CCS EBITDA jumped by 153% year-on-year to an all-time high USD 893mn, driven by stronger oil macro, record-high petrochemical margins and the easing of Covid-related restrictions with a subsequent positive effect on sales volumes. Strong Q2 EBITDA allows MOL Group to raise its 2021 full-year guidance to „around USD 3 bn” from „around USD 2.3 bn”.
Chairman-CEO Zsolt Hernádi commented the results: “I am very proud to announce that we posted the strongest quarter in MOL Group’s history.. Our resilient integrated business model not only managed to successfully navigate the challenges posed by Covid, but also captured the strong commodity cycle we are experiencing. This means we delivered USD 893mn Clean CCS EBITDA during the second quarter, which in turn means we are upgrading our guidance for the full year to around USD 3bn from the previous USD 2.3bn. Looking ahead, I am very pleased with the progress we are making on key projects as we execute our strategic plans on our path towards 2030 and beyond.”
Downstream Q2 Clean CCS EBITDA increased by 305% year-on-year to USD 447mn, boosted by very strong petrochemical performance while refining margins gradually recovered from the lows of Q2 2020. In H1 2021, Downstream generated a 73% better result than in the same period last year. The strong Downstream result was primarily driven by outstanding performance in petrochemicals, which saw its integrated petchem margin reaching an all-time high of EUR 1035.8/t during April. Downstream became the largest cash contributor to the Group in Q2 with USD 307mn free-cash-flow generation As for the ongoing investments, the polyol project exceeded 84% overall completion at the end of Q2.
Upstream EBITDA jumped to USD 336mn in Q2, which amounted exactly three times higher than a year ago and the H1 result came in at USD 645mn which means a 117% increase since the same period last year, driven by the continuously higher oil and gas prices. Oil and gas production volume decreased slightly by 5% compared to Q1 2021 to 111.2 mboepd, due to the maintenance in the UK, natural decline in the UK and CEE and lower ACG net entitlement production affected by the higher oil prices. Upstream is still one of the largest cash contributors of the Group, as simplified free cash flow rose year-on-year, as well as quarter-on-quarter to USD 230mn in Q2.
Consumer Services reached an all-time high Q2 EBITDA in Q2 2021, increasing by 48% year-on-year to USD 164mn. The excellent performance resulted in strong free-cash-flow, generating USD 230mn in the first half of the year, 50% more than a year ago. The easing of pandemic-related lockdowns and restrictions in MOL’s core CEE countries had a positive effect on sales volumes and non-fuel margin. The non-fuel margin increased by 34% in Q2, driven by strong performance across a broad category range in the Hungarian, Romanian, Czech and Slovakian markets. Total sales volumes increased by 25% year-on-year in Q2 as a result of increased travel activity following the easing of restrictions. In Q2 2021, MOL together with its subsidiary INA agreed to acquire OMV Slovenia, including 120 service stations and the wholesale operation. The number of Fresh Corner sites rose to 1,008 in Q2 from 984 in Q1 2021.
Gas Midstream Q2 EBITDA fell by 48% to USD 23mn compared to the same period last year, as both transit revenues and regulated income fell as a result of materially decreased cross-border capacity and transmission demand. Domestic transmission volumes increased by 32% in Q2 year-on-year, while export transmission volumes (to Ukraine, Romania, Croatia and Slovakia) decreased significantly by almost 87%.
About MOL Group
MOL Group is an international, integrated oil, gas, petrochemicals and consumer retail company, headquartered in Budapest, Hungary. It is active in over 30 countries with a dynamic international workforce of 25,000 people and a track record of more than 100 years. MOL Group operates three refineries and two petrochemicals plants under integrated supply chain management in Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia, and owns a network of almost 2000 service stations across 10 countries in Central & South-Eastern Europe. MOL’s exploration and production activities are supported by more than 85 years’ experience in the field of hydrocarbons and 30 years in the injection of CO2. At the moment, there are production activities in 9 countries and exploration assets in 14 countries.
MOL is committed to transform its traditional fossil-fuel-based operations into a low-carbon, sustainable business model and aspires to become net carbon neutral by 2050 while shaping the low-carbon circular economy in Central and Eastern Europe.