Statoil Fuel & Retail, the Oslo-listed downstream fuel business of Norwegian oil and gas producer Statoil, said Tuesday it was expanding its distribution network in eastern Europe as prices were returning to normal levels in Poland.
"Statoil Fuel & Retail has a robust platform for further profitable growth in central and eastern Europe, aiming at expanding the network presence," the company said in a statement to the Oslo stock exchange ahead of a capital markets presentation.
The company said it had detected an improvement in pricing conditions in the major market of Poland, where prices had previously been under pressure due say market observers to a price war led by Polish market leader PKN Orlen.
"During the past few weeks it has been noted that pump prices in Poland are reflecting a more rational behavior by the major players, however the market situation remains challenging," it said.
Statoil Fuel & Retail, which produces lubricants and operates petrol stations throughout Scandinavia and has operations in Russia and eastern Europe, also said the long term outlook for central and eastern Europe remained positive despite depressed margins in the third quarter.
It said financial goals would be achieved through organic growth of 50-60 new stations per year, targeting 40-50 in central and eastern Europe.
Statoil Fuel & Retail -- which floated off from Norwegian 67% state-owned oil and gas producer Statoil in 2010 -- last year performed some heavy restructuring, closing more than 600 stations in Scandinavia, especially in Sweden.
The company operates over 2,300 service stations in eight countries. These include the Scandinavian region in which it has a market share of about 23%, with other sites in Russia and Poland.
Last month it posted third quarter net profit of NOK356 million ($64.4 million) -- down 27% from the same period last year -- mainly due to low road transportation fuel unit margins in central and eastern Europe and an expected decrease in gross profit from fees and services.
The company last month also reported that the Polish Chamber of Liquid Fuels had filed a complaint with the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection in Poland over the pricing policies of the major players in the market.
