Orlen published financial results for 2024. Płocki company showed a net profit of PLN 1,383 billion. For the year 2023 the company had PLN 20.969 billion in profit. The drop in earnings is enormous, but not surprising. Orlen has been announcing specified results for any time.
But how is it that the company made over 20 billion in 1 year and not even 1 and a half in the other? president Ireneusz Fąfara blames the erstwhile board, due to the fact that now Orlen had to make about PLN 13.5 billion of copies. It's nothing but a permanent failure of investment, or loss. A large part of this sum was consumed by an investment by Obietek, the petrochemical task of Olefina.
“The past year is simply a time of crucial strategical decisions that will find the competitiveness of the company in subsequent years,” said Fąfar’s president. The hard decision was just to complete the unrecent Olefina III project. Part of the infrastructure created for its needs is the foundation for the fresh Chemistry project.
Olefina's project, according to Obietek, was to be "the largest petrochemical complex in Europe". And he most likely would have been, but he had a chance to win the title of "the most invaluable complex." Why? erstwhile Obietek started the investment with the pump, its costs were estimated at PLN 8.3 billion.
When Fafar's president stopped his investment in December 2024, the counter was already 12.6 billion. The construction of the complex absorbed PLN 100 million a week, and the end was not visible. In the end, the task costs could have ended in... 51 billion zlotys. That's six times what it was expected to be.
"Management and plan errors. Ignoring the principles of economics and megalomania. That's olefin III. They were expected to cost PLN 8.3 billion and would cost PLN 51 billion. That's why we keep this investment. We are starting the fresh Chemistry programme. We found the best way out of the worst investment in Polish history" – specified an entry appeared in December 2024 on the profile of Orlen's press office in social media.
Let us remind you that last November the Extraordinary General gathering of Shareholders of Orlen adopted a resolution on claims for damages caused in the management of its erstwhile members. This decision opened the way for Daniel Obiek to be held accountable. But not just him. It is besides about 12 another people who acted with Obatek.
This isn't just about olefins. Let us remind that the study of the ultimate Chamber of Control shows that only the scandal with "venezuel oil" cost Orlen about 1.5 billion losses. Orlen Trading Switzerland (OTS), or Swiss company Orlenu paid $400 million in advance for oil that never reached the refinery. president of this company Obatek made a man suspected of arabian extremism, contrary to the opinion of the peculiar Services.
However, this is only 1 of the many scandals that follow Obatki and the company's managers. NIK notes that during the Lotos merger the assets of the second were sold for at least PLN 5 billion little than they were worth.
What does Orlen do? Fuel far behind
Orlen's financial records show that fuel sales are almost side-by-side. EBIDTA's engines (profit before deduction of interest, taxes and depreciation) were energy and gas. They accounted for almost 80% of this consequence reaching PLN 35.5 billion.
In 2024, Orlen allocated PLN 32.4 billion to improvement investments. Among the most crucial projects are the first Baltic Power offshore wind farm and 2 gas plants in Ostrołęka and Grudziądz.
The company besides invests in the modernisation and construction of more than 20,000 kilometres of energy networks and the improvement of terrestrial renewable energy sources.
