Unimot S.A., an independent importer of liquid and gaseous fuels, listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, has recently published estimated consolidated financial results for the fourth quarter and the entire year 2022. Based upon the initial data, the consolidated adjusted EBITDA amounted to PLN 222,1 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 and PLN 502,3 million in the entire year 2022, respectively.
In accordance with estimates, consolidated revenue from customers amounted to PLN 13,264 million. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA (adjusted for the estimated valuation of the compulsory (emergency) stocks of liquid and gaseous fuels, reasonable transfers of costs and revenues, and one-time events) in 2022 amounted to PLN 502,3 million, compared with PLN 70,6 million in 2021, while in the fourth quarter of 2022, it amounted to PLN 222,1 million, compared with PLN 13,1 million in the corresponding period of 2021.
In many ways, the year 2022 was unprecedented. We forecast market uncertainty at the end of 2021, but world events in 2022 were difficult to predict. Russia’s military aggression against an independent Ukraine has posed enormous challenges for the entire global economy and, particularly, for the fuel sector. Both unprecedented price volatility and supply chain constraints affected our business operations. However, in these exceptional circumstances, we made use of our extensive industry knowledge and our capacity to quickly adapt to a demanding environment. The record-breaking financial results achieved in 2022 demonstrate that we met this challenge successfully – says Adam Sikorski, President of the Management Board of Unimot S.A.
The continued high margins in the diesel, biofuels, and LPG segments, as a result of high bonuses for territory and logistics capacity shortfalls, impacted the consolidated adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2022. This was brought on by the current armed conflict in Ukraine, the high level of unpredictability on the world markets, and the consequences of the sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus. The Group’s efforts to increase its logistics capacity resulted in the high financial performance in the fourth quarter of 2022. As a result of increased demand in the domestic market and meeting the fuel supply needs of the Ukrainian economy and population, the Unimot Group achieved high sales volumes of diesel, petrol, and biofuels at 435,000 m3 (an increase of 1% year on year) and increased sales of LPG by 24% to 70,000 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2022. The financial performance of the fourth quarter was also influenced by: the effective implementation of the trading strategy adopted for the analysed period for electricity trading and the use of leased storage capacity to take advantage of natural gas price volatility. The financial result achieved in the last quarter of 2022 was affected by logistical challenges that limited the ability to capitalise on market opportunities, as well as by costs associated with the project to acquire the Lotos Terminale S.A. assets and higher personnel costs related to the establishment of a bonus provision for 2022.
