Poland’s largest oil refiner PKN Orlen has achieved a historic net profit of €7.49 billion (35.3 billion zloty), the best result ever achieved by a domestic company in Poland.
The impressive results are attributed to both the favorable market conditions for fuel companies in 2022 and the company’s expansion. PKN Orlen acquired its competitor Lotos and PGNiG, the largest gas company in the country, last year.
Both companies benefited from good market conditions before joining Orlen. Lotos had its highest profit ever in 2021, and PGNiG recorded a €1.27 billion (6 billion zloty) net profit two to three years ago.
Part of Orlen’s profit in 2022 came from the acquisitions. Shareholders of Lotos and PGNiG received Orlen shares in exchange for their companies’ assets, which turned out to be worth more than the shares issued in exchange. This increased the company’s earnings by approximately €1.70 billion (8 billion zloty).
Even excluding this one-time gain, PKN Orlen’s remaining €5.73 billion (27 billion zloty) profit is over twice as much as the previous record held jointly by PKN Orlen and KGHM, a major Polish copper and silver producer, with both companies recording a net profit of €2.35 billion (11.1 billion zloty) in 2021.
These outsized earnings may be a one-off occurrence. With the historic windfall, PKN Orlen now plans to invest most of it to fuel future growth.
