Dynamic PKN Orlen may merge to form Central European petroleum giant

According to Andrzej Modrzejewski, the head of PKN Orlen (Orlen), there is a chance the company will come to an agreement with two other major Central European petroleum companies, MOL and Austrian OMV, creating the fourth largest sector group in Europe. One of the ways the deal could be carried out would be an exchange of stock between potential partners. On the Polish side the shares to change hands would be the Orlen stake now held by the State Treasury and Nafta Polska, together 28%.stake. In the third quarter of this year Orlen recorded zl. 337.4 million in net profits, z. 196.1 million more than 1999 year-on-year, with revenues of zl 6.78 billion, or zl 2.09 billion more than last year. The increase in revenue is a result not only of the steep rise in oil prices and the surging US dollar, but also an increase in the amount of materials processed by Orlen and the larger percentage of highly processed oil products in its overall production. The company is also looking for ways to cut spending by introducing a cost-reduction program, changing product storage, reorganizing wholesale and retail trading, and optimization of its transport routes. (Parkiet, p.2)