The cornerstone of the former OMV CEO's tenure was the establishment of a strategic partnership with Gazprom. Such alliances are, of course, no longer entirely in keeping with the times - although the Group still imported a fifth of its gas from Russia last year.
As a result, the Group's business portfolio has been reoriented, and net debt reduced to almost zero from EUR9 billion at the start of 2020. In this respect, the exceptional profits made during the pandemic were wisely used; they also made it possible to distribute two special dividends in quick succession.
Controlled by the Austrian government with a one-third stake, and by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund with a one-quarter stake, OMV has a unique profile among the other majors: its specialty chemicals business accounts for 30% of sales; its refining business for 20%; and its production and exploration business for the remaining half.
In its chemicals segment, the Group is a world leader in the production of polyolefins - a polymer whose demand is set to grow by a further 10% a year between now and 2030. In refining, it has a capacity of half a million barrels a day, with recognized expertise in "clean" fuels and a long-standing specialization in aviation.
This segment includes two prime assets the network of 1,700 service stations in Central Europe, which currently represents a third of the Group's refinery business volume; and the 15% stake in the refining business of ADNOC, the Abu Dhabi oil group which alone accounts for almost 4% of the world's oil production.
OMV has no plans for growth in its production and exploration segment. Its most strategic assets are located in Norway, Romania - with Neptun, the largest offshore field in the European Union - and, to a lesser extent, in Libya, Kurdistan and the Emirates. Only the renewables division is expanding, particularly in geothermal energy.
OMV's unique profile - straddling the divide between chemicals and hydrocarbon production - means that its overall profitability is higher than that of its direct peers, i.e. other European chemicals groups and, in production and exploration, mid-sized producers.
Although volatile, its free cash flow generation can be reasonably smoothed over the cycle at at least EUR2 billion a year. This makes its current valuation - market capitalization of EUR13 billion, with negligible debt - relatively attractive, even if it is primarily on the basis of its dividend payout that OMV will remain valued.
In fact, or special distributions, the regular dividend should exceed EUR3 per share from next year.
