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Retail segment’s contribution to the ORLEN Group’s first-quarter result was insignificant due to a decline in fuel margins, among other factors. Sales at service stations in Poland accounted for just around 1% of LIFO-based EBITDA. Earnings of the refining segment were also down by half compared with the prior quarter. The combined ORLEN Group generated more than PLN 110bn in revenue, with a net profit margin of only 8% (PLN 9.2bn), with the proportion close to the level posted prior to the war in Ukraine. The Group invests its profits. This year, it will spend a record amount of PLN 36bn on projects aimed to permanently improve Poland’s and the region’s energy security and independence. Zero- and low-carbon power generation projects will be continued. The scale-up of the combined ORLEN Group’s operations will also increase tax revenue streams to the state budget. In the first three months of 2023, PKN ORLEN – Poland’s largest tax payer – already paid PLN 16.5bn to the public purse, significantly contributing to the country’s economic and social development.

In early May, PGNiG Upstream Norway acquired the production assets of LOTOS Exploration and Production Norge, the ORLEN Group’s other Norwegian-based company. The consolidated entity is a top ten company operating on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in terms of hydrocarbon reserves and production, accounting for half of the Group’s output. The integration of upstream operations will facilitate investments that will help increase hydrocarbon production and further strengthen the ORLEN Group’s position in Norway, a market of key importance to Poland’s energy security.

In 2022, LNG and pipeline deliveries from new suppliers in Norway and Lithuania accounted for more than 50% of all gas imported by the ORLEN Group’s PGNiG, with close to a quarter of those imports originating in the United States. This diversification of natural gas supplies to Poland was made possible by the expansion of the supplier base and the effective management of the increased offtake capacity at the President Lech Kaczyński LNG terminal in Świnoujście and new cross-border connections, including the Baltic Pipe running between Poland and Norway, where the ORLEN Group owns gas assets. These developments were accelerated by the complete suspension of Russian gas imports in April 2022.

Two years ago, the ORLEN Group, as the first integrated oil&gas concern in CE, unveiled ambitious decarbonisation goals. Today the company is accelerating. In its updated strategy to 2030 ORLEN envisages an increase in investments in renewable energy sources, state-of-the-art petrochemical assets, raising biogas production volumes and an attractive offer of alternative fuels, including a significant increase in the number of electric vehicle charging points. The Group will spend a total of more than EUR 25bn (PLN 120bn) on green projects, representing about 40% of its capex plan to 2030. By decarbonising assets and reducing the use of fossil fuels the ORLEN Group will be able to further enhance energy security throughout CE, which is key considering the ongoing energy crisis exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The ORLEN Group’s updated strategy, in addition to ambitious investments supporting delivery of stable profits in a varied global commodity market landscape, also envisages a progressive dividend starting from PLN 4 per share. Recommended dividend for 2022 is the highest on record, at PLN 5,5 per share.

Sales at Polish fuel stations were not a significant contributor to the ORLEN Group’s overall performance in the fourth quarter of 2022, accounting for just around 3% of its total LIFO-based EBITDA. For the first time, the reported results reflected the consolidated performance of four companies: PKN ORLEN, Energa, LOTOS and PGNiG. In the three months to December 31st 2022, the combined ORLEN Group generated more than PLN 100bn in revenue, with a net profit margin of only 8% (PLN 8.1bn*). The fact that the ORLEN Group currently enjoys stable revenue levels is attributable, among other things, to the elimination of illegal fuel trade, which before 2016 had a negative impact on the performance of legally operating fuel companies in Poland. In 2022 alone, the ORLEN Group paid PLN 39bn in taxes to the state budget, an increase of about PLN 13bn on 2015. Throughout 2022, the ORLEN Group spent PLN 19.6bn on projects seeking to permanently improve energy security and independence, including renewable energy development projects. The massive capital spending programme was enabled by the mergers and profits delivered by the Group.

PGNiG Upstream Norway and LOTOS Exploration & Production Norge of the ORLEN Group have been awarded interests in four exploration licences on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in an annual licensing round. Together with the latest awards, the ORLEN Group now holds 98 licences in Norway.

As many as 58 LNG cargoes were received by the ORLEN Group at the President Lech Kaczyński Terminal in 2022, hitting a new record since the terminal started its commercial operation. The volume of LNG deliveries received in Świnoujście totalled 4.4 million tonnes, 57% more than last year. The increased LNG imports helped to ensure energy security for gas customers in Poland despite the challenging gas market landscape in Europe.