Paz Oil Company Ltd. (TASE:PZOL) today presented a $118 million plan to upgrade the Paz Ashdod Refinery, in the company's financial report for the first quarter of 2010. Over the past year, Oil Refineries Ltd's (TASE:ORL) plan to build a hydrocracking facility has been in the news.
Paz, controlled by Zadik Bino, has three divisions: refining and logistics; retail and wholesale, which overseas the company's gas stations and convenience stores; and industry and services, which includes Pazgaz Ltd., and other service companies.
Paz's revenue rose 42% NIS 3.73 billion for the first quarter from NIS 2.63 billion for the corresponding quarter. The company attributes most of the growth to higher fuel prices in the first quarter.
Net profit rose to NIS 133 million for the first quarter from NIS 102 million for the corresponding quarter.
The main news in the financial report concerned Paz's planned projects for its oil refinery. Paz is already building a facility to convert processed hydrocarbon gas into gasoline and a cogeneration power station to generate electricity and provide steam for the refinery. The company's board of directors has approved a project to boost catalytic cracking and to build a sulfur removal facility to treat diesel to meet standard.
The new facilities are due to come on line in 2012, and are expected to boost Paz's operating profit by $40 million, on top of the $30 million that the cogeneration power station and the hydrocarbon gas converter facility will provide.
Paz's share price rose 6.7% today to NIS 540, giving a market cap of NIS 5.14 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 26, 2010
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