* Q4 results hit by inventory revaluation
* Board recommends no dividend
* No targets given as outlook remains volatile
* Shares drop 1.5 pct at open
(Adds company comments, updates shares)
By Jan Korselt and Robert Mueller
PRAGUE, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Czech downstream oil group
Unipetrol <> posted a larger-than-expected operating
loss in the fourth quarter, and said on Thursday the outlook
remained volatile as it declined to set a 2009 EBIT target.
The Czech refiner's board also declined to recommended a
dividend payment from 2008 profits, having paid out its first
dividend in a decade last year.
Unipetrol booked an operating loss of 1.26 billion crowns
($56.78 million) in the final three months of 2008, hit by a
refinery shutdown and revaluation losses on its inventory after
the price of crude oil plunged from record summer levels.
"The biggest impact on the fourth quarter results was
connected with the revaluation of stocks. This problem finished
at the end of the year," Chief Financial Officer Wojciech
Ostrowski told reporters.
"It is very difficult to predict this market, we expect this
year will be the same, very volatile ... so (Unipetrol is) not
giving any EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) targets for
this year," he said.
Analysts in a Reuters poll had expected an operating loss of
859 million crowns. The Czech group posted a 657 million crowns
loss in the same period a year before.
By 1100 GMT, shares in Unipetrol were down 2.6 percent to
110.2 crowns, underperforming a 0.5 percent gain for Prague's
index <>.
FINANCIAL STANDING STRONG
Unipetrol, 63 percent owned by Poland's PKN Orlen <PKNA.WA>,
has been hurt in previous quarters by fluctuating crude prices
and exchange rate volatility, and had earlier flagged a
quarterly loss to markets.
The company has also been hit by a drop in demand for
plastics from central Europe's car factories, which are
struggling amid the global economic downturn.
The company said it would continue to look at ways to reduce
working capital and cut costs.
Revenue fell 10 percent to 19.02 billion crowns in the
quarter.
Unipetrol fell to a net loss of 1.2 billion crowns in the
final three months of 2008, larger than a 862 million crown loss
expected. Full-year attributable profit fell to 65 million
crowns, from 1.2 billion crowns in 2007.
"Unipetrol disclosed quite poor figures for 4Q08, and it
should be mentioned that the expectations were already set
very low," Erste Bank analysts said in a note.
"All in all, both negative effects of inventory revaluation
and FX losses had greater negative effects than we expected."
Ostrowski said the board would not recommend a dividend, but
that shareholders would have the final say. Unipetrol paid a
17.65 crown per share dividend on 2007 profits -- its first
payout since 1997 -- on the urging of PKN Orlen.
Chief Executive Krzysztof Urbanowicz said the company had
strong financial standing with a debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 0.7-
times, and was investigating acquisitions.
"At this moment I cannot disclose any details on possible
acquisitions," he said. "We have a healthy financial standing,
so it should not be a big problem (with funding)."
Urbanowicz took over earlier this month after the
resignation of Francois Vleugels, who helped lead Unipetrol
through a three-year restructuring after PKN bought its stake
from the Czech state in 2005.
(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Mike Nesbit and Andrew
Macdonald)
