The company obtained these results even amid a challenging environment for the fuels and refined products market.
Today Enap announced its financial results for the third quarter of this year, during which it obtained profits of US$326.4 million. Additionally, its EBITDA reached US$795.4 million as of September 2024.
The company attributed these figures to a decrease in gross margin in nominal terms, from US$1,103.8 million during the first nine months of 2023 to US$763.7 million for the same period in 2024. This reduction is related to a drop in average international refining margins, with gasoline margins declining from US$27.4 to US$16.4 per barrel and diesel margins from US$33.7 to US$21.3 per barrel, partially offset by the optimization of crude purchasing costs.
CEO Julio Friedmann highlighted that internal management measures, particularly those aimed at stabilizing production, have helped mitigate declines in product prices while also allowing the company to continue reducing its debt. “Despite the reduction in international refining margins, which we anticipated, we are running a more efficient operation. In a year marked by high oil prices, OPEC production cuts, and geopolitical conflicts threatening global supply, ENAP’s third-quarter results enable us to project long-term financial sustainability, exceeding our plans for this year,” he said.
Financial costs fell by US$9.1 million in the third quarter, from US$171.6 million in the first nine months of 2023 to US$162.4 million during the same period in 2024, thanks to a reduction in financial debt from approximately US$3.9 billion at the end of the same quarter last year to around US$3.6 billion as of September 30 of this year.
The analysis by business line shows that Refining and Commercialiization (R&C), responsible for transporting crude oil and its derivatives to Chile, refining it in plants, and distributing products domestically, reported a Pre-Tax Profit (RAI) of US$306.1 million for the third quarter. The Exploration and Production (E&P) line, which manages oil and gas extraction in Chile and three other countries, posted a RAI of US$151.6 million for the third quarter of 2024. Of this, US$142.7 million came from the international operations of its Enap Sipetrol subsidiary, and US$8.2 million from Magallanes.
Management Highlights for the Quarter
Friedmann reiterated, “We are working responsibly to continue meeting our commitments and building an increasingly sustainable company. The work of the management team and our employees has been positive, enabling us to anticipate a challenging context, as we set out to do months ago, by implementing structural projects that will help us better navigate this scenario.”
This proactive approach, initiated at the end of 2023, has led to several achievements in production and efficiency. For example, the company has increased the total production of petroleum-derived products, while also boosting the proportion of high-margin valuable products like kerosene, which saw a 32% increase in production during 2024.
Recently, the Aconcagua and Bío Bío refineries set production records for fuel, and ENAP’s wells in Ecuador hit a new peak in August.
Additionally, since mid-year, the company implemented several actions to optimize coordination in production, distribution, and commercialization processes. This aims to enhance the standard and reliability of product delivery to customers by reducing, for instance, ship demurrage costs. All scheduled maintenance processes at the refineries have also improved in both timing and efficiency compared to previous years.
In August, ENAP also extended its natural gas contract with Methanex in Magallanes until 2030, providing greater certainty for future gas volumes and allowing ENAP to continue new investments in natural gas exploration and development.