Bosnian base oil and lubricant producer Rafinarija Ulja Modrica ended the first half of this year with a net loss of 1.1 million convertible marks (U.S. $600,000), a slight improvement from results in the same period last year.
The company shed some of its workforce to help cope with the losses.
The company lost 1.5 million marks in the first half of 2022. In the first six months of 2023 the company’s revenue rose 6% to 5.2 million marks. However, Modrica’s operating expenses ballooned 5% in the period to 6.4 million marks.
The company ended 2022 with workforce of 206 but while by June 30 had laid off 22 employees, reducing the number to 184.
Republika Srpska prime minister Radovan Miskovic told the local media in August that Modrica’s financial loss can be attributed to ongoing servicing projects, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian war in Ukraine, which halted business with Russia, the company’s primary export destination. Republika Srpska is a semi-autonomous region within Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Rafinerija Ulja Modrica is the only API Group II and Group III base oil producer in the Balkans. The base oil plant capacity is 78,000 metric tons per year, while the 45,000 t/y lubricant plant makes products sold under the Optima brand. Neftegazinkor, a Russian company that founded Bosnian Optima Group in 2008, owns Rafinerija ulja Modrica along with another refinery in Brod and Nestro Petrol, a network of 86 fuel stations.