Page 12 - LatAmOil Week 34 2022

LatAmOil URUGUAY LatAmOil

ANCAP group posts $128mn profit

in H1-2022 despite fuel subsidies

URUGUAY’S national oil company (NOC) included the appreciation of the Uruguayan
ANCAP reported on August 19 that it had peso; sales of diesel to Uruguay’s national power
remained in the black in the first half of 2022, provider, the National Administration of Power
despite the government’s decision to maintain Plants and Electric Transmissions (UTE), with
its policy of keeping domestic pump prices arti- most of these occurring in the first quarter of
ficially low. the year; and currency hedging. These activities
In a statement, ANCAP explained that all the lifted profits by $57.5mn, $14.5mn and $11mn
subsidiaries of its holding company had earned respectively, while other activities caused the
a total profit of $128mn in the January-June group to sustain $22mn in losses, it said.
period. It did not provide comparative data, but ANCAP went on to say that it expected its
it did note that it had posted a profit of $12mn on third-quarter earnings to be affected by a sched-
Uruguay’s monopoly fuel market, despite fore- uled stoppage at its refinery in La Teja. The
going $130mn worth of income as a result of the 50,000-barrel per day (bpd) plant is due to be
state subsidy. taken off line in September for maintenance, it
(Most of these subsidies were paid out in explained. ™
the second quarter of the year, according to
ANCAP’s President Alejandro Stipanicic.
He was quoted in the statement as saying that
ANCAP’s revenues had been $32mn below the
import parity price, or IPP, between January and
March and $98mn below IPP between April and
June.)
The NOC further noted said in its statement
that its non-monopoly subsidiaries had earned
profits of $43mn on the competitive fuel mar-
ket in the first half of the year. At the same time,
ANCAP’s 99.77%-owned affiliate DUCSA, a
distribution company that operates ANCAP’s
branded filling stations and sells ANCAP- and
Texaco-branded lubricants, turned a profit of
$16mn, while all of the NOC’s other subsidiaries
reported a loss of $4mn.
According to ANCAP, other sources of profit Subsidies effectively cut ANCAP’s earnings by $130mn in H1-2022 (Photo: AMF)

ARGENTINA
YPF raises retail gasoline, diesel prices

ARGENTINA’S national oil company (NOC) YPF’s decision caused pump prices to go up
YPF raised retail motor fuel prices on August by 7.5% on average across the country, though
21, saying the move was necessary because of rates were reported to be up by as much as 10%
the “evolution” in relevant factors such as world in Còrdoba and some other locations, Merco-
crude oil prices and the country’s macroeco- press said on August 22. It pointed out that the
nomic performance. increase was not evenly distributed between gas-
The factors in question include the 16% oline and diesel, as prices for the former went up
decline in the exchange rate of Argentina’s by 8.5% and prices for the latter went up by 6%.
national currency since the last adjustment Despite the rise, retail fuel prices remain
in gasoline and diesel prices, which was made lower in Argentina than they are in neighbour-
on May 9, as well as the 19% rise in the price of ing regions of other South American states, the
bioethanol blendstock over the same period, the news agency noted. This is because Buenos Aires
NOC said. has continued to subsidise certain commodities.

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 34 24•August•2022