In the three quarters of 2004 Chemopetrol reached a pre-tax profit of CZK 1 032,7 million. In the same period of the last year, the loss was CZK 210,6 million. This was an improvement of CZK 1 243,3 million year over year. These results were achieved while the prices of oil products were sharply increasing and the basic margins remained at a favorable level for Chemopetrol. Owing to this development, the revenues from the sales of its own products reached the level of CZK 19,2 billion, an increase of CZK 5,3 billion over the same period of the last year. Another significant factor is the full use of new polyethylene and polypropylene unit production capacities. Cost-saving measures in the area of overheads contributed significantly to the result as well. All these factor fueled the year-over-year operating result increase from CZK 280 million to CZK 1 622 million. During the year, a stable financing of the company has been ensured, while the working funds went up due to an increase in prices and production volume.

As at September 30, 2004, Kaučuk generated a pre-tax profit CZK 158 million, while operating results amounted to CZK 304 million and loss from financial operations CZK 147 million. In the same period of the last year, the pre-tax profit was only CZK 18 million. Revenues from the sales of its own products and services reached CZK 7 592 million and are by 31,5% higher than in the same period of the last year. Input prices have been increasing throughout the entire year, but as there was a high demand, mainly for rubber mixtures, this increase has been gradually applied to product prices. Thanks to this demand, the company makes full use of its production capacities in its both major production programs (SBRs and polystyrenes), which favorably impacts on the company´s economy. Even despite a higher need for working capital due to the mentioned increase in prices, the company still successfully manages to cover its financial needs and pay off investment credits used in the previous years. At the same time, the company is finishing the reconstruction of product line connecting production units in Litvínov and Kralupy expecting it to be restarted in the fourth quarter of this year.

In the period from January to September 2004, Spolana Neratovice showed a pre-tax profit of CZK 10,7 million (in the same period of 2003 – the loss CZK 458,5 million). An increased demand for basic company´s commodities, mainly PVC and ammonium sulfate, positively impacted on its results. Having retained an increasing trend from the previous periods, the prices of used raw materials – cyclohexanone, ethylene, ammonia and sulfur had a negative impact on the economics. Missing revenues due to an unplanned extension of technological facility shutdown in the PVC production unit impacted on the results for the first three quarters as well . Spolana´s revenues for its own products and services in the first nine months of 2004 hover somewhere around CZK 3,7 billion and are similar to revenues in the same period of 2003. Spolana still continues its program aimed at achieving a maximum efficiency in spending the resources. In terms of external services, for instance, a saving of CZK 50 million was recorded in the period under consideration.

In the assessed period of 2004, the company achieved revenues of CZK 14,8 billion, an increase 22% over the same period of 2003. Even despite this positive development, several important factors impacted on the company´s economy, among them being an extreme, worldwide increase in oil prices and fuels, and strong competitive environment in filling station market. Benzina´s loss of CZK 243 million in the first nine months of 2004 was mainly due to two factors. First and the most important was a continuous decline in unit margins in the sales of fuels, as the constant increase in fuel purchasing prices could not be successfully applied to final consumer prices as yet, mainly due to a strongly competitive environment in fuel distribution. Another factor, specific to the company Benzina, is the creation of reserves in the amount of CZK 98 million for risks associated with ongoing administrative action by the ÚHOS (the Czech Anti-Monopoly Office), as the company launched an appeal against the decision on imposing the penalty for the violation of competition rules.

The development in oil prices being unfavorable, the company still succeeded in achieving good economic results. In the first nine months of 2004 it recorded a pre-tax profit of CZK 206,1 million. Turnover in this period was CZK 4,9 billion. In the same period of 2003, the company´s result was CZK 34,2 million, the revenues from the sales of its own products and services CZK 3,5 billion. Total company´s assets exceeded CZK 4,3 billion as at September 30, 2004. Paramo´s results were fueled by extensive trading activities with both its own products and purchased goods. Further important factors include a relatively high difference in prices of fuels and oil in the world commodity exchanges and strengthening Czech crown against US dollar. However, the amount of profit was negatively impacted on by the facts like increasing oil price, limited possibility to increase the prices of asphalts, lubricants and heating oil, and growing exports, mainly from the countries of Eastern Europe.

Unipetrol Refineries reached a pre-tax profit of CZK 358,4 million in the period under consideration, the revenues totaled CZK 42,5 billion. Gross margin in the period was higher by CZK 302 022 thousand as against the business plan. It was mainly due to an increasing volume of inventories amounting to CZK 619 719 thousand and exceeding planned amount of revenues from the sales of its own products by CZK 372 776 thousand (2% up) as a result of favorable development of selling prices of the main product groups in the long term. Another factor influencing the gross margin was the cost of used raw materials. These costs, higher than planned due to a strengthening Brent oil price, were compensated for by processing only 83 % of the planned oil volume (marketing and capacity limits). The pre-tax result was further influenced by a profit from financial operations (CZK 63 209 thousand), unplanned expenses for advertising ( CZK 24 760 thousand) and by a gross loss on merchandise sold resulting from the use of different quoted prices and exchange courses for the calculation of selling and purchasing prices.

In the first three quarters of 2004, Czech Refining processed more than 4,2 million tons of oil. The production of raw materials for petrochemical industry grew as against the last year. The production of final products dropped, except for aviation fuels and heating oil. This year, the company´s production has been influenced by planned one-month shutdown of both its refineries. The shutdown in Kralupy nad Vltavou was connected with the maintenance of technical facility, in Litvínov it aimed at finishing the implementation of the project Clean Fuels, which will enable to supply the market with low-sulfur motor fuels according to EU specifications. According to non-audited results, Czech Refining reached a pre-tax profit of CZK 36 million in the first three quarters of 2004. The results in this year´s third quarter were influenced by accounting operations related to the reassessment of inventory volume and to the impacts of settling the old receivables. The turnover for the nine months of this year was CZK 6 441 million. In the same period of 2003, the company recorded a profit of CZK 523 million and turnover CZK 29,5 billion. The results of these two periods are not comparable, nevertheless, as the Czech Refining operated in two different modes – throughout major part of 2003 (from January to the end of July) as a full-merchant unit and this year as processing refinery. Czech Refining transferred to the new mode of operating on August 1, 2003. As of this date, its trading activities – i.e. purchase of oil and sale of finished products – have been passed on to the local trading companies of its shareholders. This changed mode impacts on the level of Czech Refining´s profit as well as on the amount of turnover which does not reflect the price of refining products any more, but only oil processing fee.

Mother company of the holding Unipetrol achieved a pre-tax profit of CZK 58,4 million in the said period. The revenues exceeded CZK 120 million and reported results are by approximately CZK 20 million higher than in the same period of the last year.​