Unipetrol’s retail arm Benzina plans to make a conference call for investors/analysts by the end of October according to an interview with Mr Francois Vleugels, CEO of Unipetrol. The company plans to discuss the first results of the dual retail branding (premium and economy) strategy of the firm, and the potential organic growth and acquisition opportunities.
Our view: We see the news as neutral for the moment. We could see positively if Unipetrol could ensure investors about further efficiency improvements. However, we would view the company’s retail expansion plans cautiously as we see that 1) Unipetrol’s other business lines (downstream and petchem) could provide better returns, moreover, 2) retail margins are the lowest in the Czech Republic in a CEE4 comparison.