Petromoc owes more than six billion meticais to the AT and other creditors

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Petromoc owes more than six billion meticais to the AT and other creditors

1:54 CAT | 17 May 2022

Photo: O País

Petróleos de Moçambique (Petromoc) owes around six billion meticais to the Mozambican Tax Authority (AT) and other creditors. In addition to debt-related issues, the company’s board of directors says that it is facing other difficulties in sustaining operations.

Petromoc’s management acknowledges that the company’s accounts are in the red. The firm’s board of directors intends to reduce the debt with creditors in order to make it sustainable.

“We have a debt with the Tax Authority estimated at around four billion meticais, and owe another two billion meticais to creditors,” revealed chairman of the board Hélder Chabisse.

And the problems don’t stop there. Petromoc claims that the recent fuel price readjustment has only worsened the company’s financial situation.

Asked about the reactivation of a Petromoc refinery closed in 1984, the manager talked about the need to increase demand. “Right now, the country consumes 1.4 million cubic metres and that is not enough volume to make a refinery profitable. We will have to look to neighbouring countries in order to make the refinery profitable. It will be necessary to make a cost-benefit relationship,” the Petromoc chairman added.

“From August of last year to the present day, the company has faced treasury difficulties, because we are again in a situation of regulatory deficit and, since then, the price of fuel has been adjusted, but not to the level of the price of fuel in the international market,” explains Petromoc financial administrator Mário Sitoe.

Despite these difficulties and challenges, Petromoc’s indicators point to improvements. Sales of goods and services earned the institution more than 19 billion meticais last year, against 16 billion in 2020.

“The positive results for 2020 and 2021 show that net results are improving, and that is our perspective, taking into account our business plan and our budget for this and subsequent years. Petromoc will be able to pay the dividends,” Chabisse promised.

The information was released this Monday during a visit to Pretromoc by parliament’s Planning and Budget Commission.

By Edmilson Lambo

Source: O País