OMV Petrom: Q2/23 clean results were slightly ahead of our estimates

OMV Petrom reported Q2/23 clean CCS EBIT at RON 1.61bn (-56% YoY) 3%
better than our estimate of RON 1.56bn amidst a deteriorating commodity
price environment. Clean CCS net income attributable to stockholders came in
RON 1.47bn -51% YoY) vs our estimate of RON 1.43bn, implying clean CCS
EPS of RON 0.0236.
 Cash flow from operating activities dropped by 89% to RON 412mn. We note
that OMV Petrom paid RON ~1.5bn additional tax representing the solidarity
contribution on refined crude oil for 2022, significantly increasing its effective
tax rate. Cash CapEx increased significantly to RON 1.57bn from RON 0.72bn
YoY, out of which upstream investments accounted for around 43%. FCF after
dividends came in at RON -3.48bn compared to RON 1.11bn in Q2/22. Clean
annualized ROACE (w/o solidarity tax) improved from 31.3% to 26.9% on the
back of strong cash generation ability.
 Net cash including leases amounted to ca. RON 13.23bn at the end of June,
2023, or RON 0,212 a share (ca. 37% of current market cap!). OMV Petrom
pays a base DPS of RON 0.0375/share for the financial year 2022, up 10%
YoY, and also pays specialty dividend of RON 0.045 this year.