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Inistration (MBA) School of Social Sciences Master in Business Administration (MBA) Post Graduate Dissertation A sectoral study on the impact of the oil companies in the Greek economy Vlachos George Supervisor: Tzovas Christos Patras, May 2018 © Hellenic Open University, 2018 The content of this dissertation along with its results is owned by the Hellenic Open University and his author, where each of them has the sole and exclusive right to use, reproduce, and publish it (totally or partially) for educational or research purposes, with the obligation to make reference to the dissertation’s title, the author’s name and to the Hellenic Open University where the dissertation was written. ii Σχολή Κοινωνικών Επιστημών Μεταπτυχιακό στην Διοίκηση Επιχειρήσεων ( MBA) Μεταπτυχιακή Διπλωματική Εργασία Κλαδική μελέτη της επίδρασης των εταιριών πετρελαιοειδών στην ελληνική οικονομία Βλάχος Γεώργιος Επιβλέπων: Τζόβας Χρήστος Πάτρα, Μάιος 2018 iii School of Social Sciences Master in Business Administration (MBA) Post Graduate Dissertation A sectoral study on the impact of the oil companies in the Greek economy Vlachos George Supervising Committee Supervisor: Co-Supervisor: Tzovas Christos HOU Patras, May 2018 iv Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor professor Tzovas Christos for his valuable contribution in the completion of the present dissertation. v Abstract The oil industry is of critical importance for the Greek economy. Especially the two large refineries MOH and HELPE, provide a major part of the income of the Greek government and help to reduce the deficits in the current account by being two of the largest export companies. Therefore, a financial analysis of the performance of these two firms and the analysis of the contribution of the oil sector in the Greek economy is quite important. The present dissertation provides a complete description of the oil sector in Greece and assesses its impact on the Greek market. Keywords HELPE, MOH, Oil sector impact. vi Περίληψη Η βιομηχανία πετρελαιοειδών έχει μεγάλη σημασία για την ελληνική οικονομία. Ειδικά τα δύο μεγάλα διυλιστήρια MOH και HELPE, συνεισφέρουν ένα μεγάλο μέρος του εισοδήματος της ελληνικής κυβέρνησης και συμβάλλουν στη μείωση των ελλειμμάτων του ισοζυγίου τρεχουσών συναλλαγών, ούσες δύο από τις μεγαλύτερες εξαγωγικές εταιρείες. Επομένως, μια οικονομική ανάλυση των επιδόσεων αυτών των δύο επιχειρήσεων και η ανάλυση της συμβολής του πετρελαϊκού τομέα στην ελληνική οικονομία είναι πολύ σημαντική. Η παρούσα διατριβή παρέχει μια πλήρη περιγραφή του πετρελαϊκού τομέα στην Ελλάδα και αξιολογεί τον αντίκτυπό της στην ελληνική αγορά. Λέξεις – Κλειδιά MOH, ΕΛΠΕ, κλάδος πετρελαιοειδών vii Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2 The Greek Oil Industry ................................................................................. 3 2.1 The business environment of the Greek oil industry .......................................... 3 2.2 The oil industry in Greece .................................................................................... 5 2.3 The two large companies ..................................................................................... 7 2.3.1 Motor Oil Hellas (MOH) ................................................................................ 7 2.3.2 Hellenic Petroleum (HELPE) .......................................................................... 9 2.3.3 Companies selling petroleum products ...................................................... 11 2.4 The impact of the oil industry on the Greek economy ...................................... 18 Chapter 3 Research Methodology .............................................................................. 21 3.1 The perspectives of financial analysis ................................................................ 21 3.1.1 Main financial reports ................................................................................. 23 3.2 The purpose of the analysis of financial statements ......................................... 24 3.2.1 Objectives of Investors - Shareholders ....................................................... 24 3.2.2 Objectives of the company’s creditors ....................................................... 25 3.2.3 Objectives of the company's management ................................................ 26 3.2.4 Objectives of analysts in other cases .......................................................... 26 3.3 Types of balance sheets analysis ....................................................................... 27 3.3.1 Methods of analyzing balance sheets ......................................................... 28 Chapter 4 Empirical Results ........................................................................................ 30 4.1 Selected indicators (ratios) ............................................................................... 30 4.1.1 Efficiency ratios ........................................................................................... 30 4.1.2 Profitability ratios ....................................................................................... 31 4.1.3 Activity/efficiency ratios ............................................................................. 32 4.1.4 Liquidity ratios ............................................................................................ 34 4.1.5 Capital structure ratios ............................................................................... 35 4.2 Time series and comparative analyses .............................................................. 37 4.2.1 Efficiency ratios ........................................................................................... 37 4.2.2 Profitability ratios ....................................................................................... 39 4.2.3 Activity/efficiency ratios ............................................................................. 40 4.2.4 Liquidity ratios ............................................................................................ 43 4.2.5 Capital structure ratios ............................................................................... 46 4.3 Significance of the oil industry ........................................................................... 47 4.4 Further comparison of MOH and HELPE ............................................................ 49 Chapter 5 Conclusions ................................................................................................ 53 References ................................................................................................................... 55 viii ix Vlachos George, A sectoral study on the impact of the oil companies in the Greek economy Chapter 1 Introduction The present dissertation analyzes the environment of the Greek refineries, examines the contribution of the petroleum refining industry to the Greek economy and assesses its prospects. The crisis of the Greek economy, coupled with the recession in Europe, has catalyzed the refini ng industry in Greece, leading to a significant change in the environment in which Greek refineries operate. In particular, due to domestic and international conditions, the industry faces high crude oil supply costs, low refining margins, a sharp drop in domestic demand and increased financing and energy costs. The shift to export activity gave way to Greek refineries, which, due to the fall in the domestic market, were faced with the risk of low utilization of their production capacity, which would remove them from the least efficient production scale, further bu rdening their financial results . Thus, after a period of significant investments in modernization and upgrading of their capacity and under the pressure of low domestic demand and poor prospects, t hey sought new and expanded into existing markets abroad, mainly in count ries outside the European Union . The significance of the oil sector for the Greek economy, especially during the financial crisis, is undeniable . Moreover, the vast majority of the added value of the contribution of the sector is attributed to the two large companies that own the refineries in Greece. Therefore, it is of great importance to analyze the financial indicators of the two firms since before the crisis started, in order to assess the impact of the downturn on the two companies. The purpose of the dissertation is to highlight the performance of the two companies through the presentation of the most important financial indicators and determine which one of the two managed to face the challenges of the crisis more effectively. In addition, and parallel to the evaluation of the firms’ course, the dissertation aims to depict the importance of the oil sector in general, and the two companies’ in particular, for the Greek economy. The empirical part of the dissertation consists of financial indicators for the two firms for a period of eight years, starting with 2009. These indicators depict the results of a company regarding efficiency, profitability, activity, liquidity and capital structure. These ratios are some of the most frequently used in financial analyses and 1 Vlachos George, A sectoral study on the impact of the oil companies in the Greek economy are rather easy to assess and evaluate. Furthermore, a more specialized analysis of the firms is presented in order to asses which of the two has dealt with the downtur n more efficiently. The most significant outcome of the analysis
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