CEO Roiss: "OMV: an international player with Austrian roots"
March 31, 2011
- Gerhard Roiss to become CEO of OMV Aktiengesellschaft on April 1
- Strategy review on three main areas: regional focus, portfolio development and future challenges
- Strategy presentation at OMV Media Summit and Capital Markets Days in Istanbul this September
Gerhard Roiss will take over the role of CEO at OMV Aktiengesellschaft with effect from April 1. Since 2002, Mr Roiss has acted as Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and was responsible for Refining and Marketing including petrochemicals. Prior to this, Mr Roiss headed up the Exploration and Production unit.
“OMV has gone from strength to strength in the past few years, and this is demonstrated by our facts and figures. Our recent acquisition of Turkish company Petrol Ofisi has also enabled us to expand our position significantly in the growing Turkish market. The task now is to consolidate the company’s three core markets and increase the resulting potential synergies within the context of an integrated energy group,” said Roiss, during a press conference in Vienna to mark the start of his tenure as CEO.
Mr Roiss will also initiate a further review of the company’s strategy with the objective of balancing out OMV’s portfolio of companies. The process will be based on the three core themes that are: regional focus, portfolio development and future challenges.
As an example, a large share of the capital is currently tied up in the Refining and Marketing business, while the Exploration and Production unit generates the majority of EBIT. Here, areas of focus will be redefined and adapted to the market environment.
The Gas and Power business will gain in importance for OMV in the coming years. The effects of recent events in Japan among other factors will see natural gas grow in importance as a source of energy.
“Natural gas is a low-emission energy source and offers an important alternative in view of recent developments and the long-running climate and energy debate,” said Mr Roiss. OMV’s first 860 MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant will become operational in Brazi, Romania before the end of the year. This will be followed in 2012 by the OMV power station in Samsun, Turkey. The latter plant will cover around 3% of Turkey’s power requirement.
Natural gas also provides OMV with the option of expanding its supply chain by allowing it to trade in electricity as well as produce electricity.
“With regard to the long-term portfolio development, we remain realistic that our core business – Exploration and Production – will continue to form the backbone of our Group,” said Mr Roiss. The company strategy will be presented during the planned Media Summit and Capital Market Days in Istanbul this September.
With reference to questions about the refinancing of the company, this issue is of particular importance to the new CEO. Capital and cost discipline and a strong investment grade credit rating are the top priorities. A decision should be made in the first half of 2011.
Background information:
OMV Aktiengesellschaft
With Group sales of EUR 23.32 bn and a workforce of 31,398 employees in 2010, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is one of Austria’s largest listed industrial companies. As the leading energy Group in Central and Southeastern Europe, OMV is active in Refining & Marketing (R&M) in 13 countries. In Exploration & Production (E&P) OMV holds a balanced international E&P portfolio In Gas & Power (G&P) OMV sells approximately 18 bcm gas per year. Through its 2,000 km long gas pipeline network in Austria G&P transports approximately 89 bcm gas annually. OMV’s Central European Gas Hub is with around 34 bcm annual trading volume one of the most important gas hubs in Continental Europe.
OMV is the leading energy Group Central and Southeastern Europe with oil and gas reserves of approximately 1.15 bn boe, daily production of around 318,000 boe in 2010 and an annual refining capacity of approximately 26 mn t. The Group further strengthened its leading position in Central and Southeastern Europe through the acquisition of a majority stake in Petrol Ofisi, Turkey’s leading company in the retail and commercial business. OMV now has approx. 4,800 filling stations incl. Petrol Ofisi. The market share of the group in the R&M business segment in the Danube Region is approx. 20%.
Under its 3plus strategy, OMV combines the strengths of its E&P, G&P and R&M business units in order to ensure that it provides the best possible supply service to its three core markets of Central and Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe and Turkey. OMV uses the synergies that result from the combination of these strengths to extend its supply chain from oil and gas through to electricity and eventually renewable energy.
Sustainability
OMV is a signatory to the UN Global Compact, and an active supporter to the values enshrined in its Code of Conduct. These include a strong sense of responsibility towards the social and natural environment, especially in economically weak regions. OMV continuously addresses economic, environmental and social issues related to its business in a responsible manner. The Company reports on its activities in a sustainability report in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines. This report is published at the same time as the annual report.
OMV CEO Gerhard Roiss, Photo Gerhard Roiss; Fotocredit: OMV, (JPG, 2,5 MB)