Poland's Grupa Lotos expects Q4 refining margins to fall compared to Q3

WARSAW (Thomson Financial) - Poland's second-largest oil company Grupa Lotos expects fourth-quarter refining margins to be lower that the previous quarter, but still higher than is 'typical' for the last three months of the year, its finance chief said.

'Restructuring of the retail network will last until the end of 2007 and we expect that the network will begin to bring in an operating profit in 2008,' Chief Financial Officer Mariusz Machajewski told a news conference.

'Refining margins in the fourth quarter will be higher than usually in this period. That is how the market environment looks right now.'

Lotos Chief Executive Pawel Olechnowicz told the same conference he expects to refine 6.192 mln tonnes of crude this year and that the company will sell 7 mln tonnes of products this year.

Source: By Piotr Skolimowski, orbes.com