WARSAW, March 2 - Poland's second largest refiner, Lotos had a smaller than expected net loss of 903.8 million zloty ($246 million) in the fourth quarter, due to oil inventory valuations and a weak zloty currency, the company said on Monday.
Analysts polled by Reuters expected a net loss of 957 million zlotys, versus a net profit of 245 million in the year-ago period.
Fourth-quarter revenues fell to 3.7 billion zlotys.
In the last three months of 2008, Lotos was hit by a drastic cut in inventory values on the back of a slide in oil prices, which forced it to book 893 million zlotys in writedowns and pushed the refiner to a 661-million zloty operating loss.
The refiner also had to take 452 million zloty in writedowns on foreign currency, tied to its extensive investment programme, as the zloty lost 20 percent against the euro and dollar.
Analysts polled by Reuters expected a net loss of 957 million zlotys, versus a net profit of 245 million in the year-ago period.
Fourth-quarter revenues fell to 3.7 billion zlotys.
In the last three months of 2008, Lotos was hit by a drastic cut in inventory values on the back of a slide in oil prices, which forced it to book 893 million zlotys in writedowns and pushed the refiner to a 661-million zloty operating loss.
The refiner also had to take 452 million zloty in writedowns on foreign currency, tied to its extensive investment programme, as the zloty lost 20 percent against the euro and dollar.
