None of the three members of the IOC consortium (Agip, Shell and ConocoPhilips) exercised the option to buy Unipetrol's 51% stake in Ceska rafinerska (Craf). Note that this has removed a significant portion of the risks associated with a possible revision of the Unipetrol privatization price (CZK 99 per share). Approval of the transaction by the European Commission is expected in October, and its completion by the end of 2004. Also, ConocoPhilips said it would take a portion of the shares and ultimately the assets of Benzina - note that it had already indicated an acquisition appetite for a 30% stake in Benzina several months ago. Patria has a restricted opinion on Unipetrol.
Separately, the company released its consolidated H1 2004 IFRS figures yesterday. Net profit stood at CZK 1.14bn (CZK 6.3 per share). The timing of the release, the ongoing privatization and expected restructuring of the holding, and given that the market works with CAS standards in this case make this event irrelevant for the stock.
Tomáš Gatěk, Patria Finance