Petroplus Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2010 Results

Regulatory News:

Petroplus Holdings AG (SIX: PPHN) today reported an estimated clean net income of $65 million, or $0.69 per share, for the three months ended December 31, 2010, compared to an estimated clean net loss of $(150) million, or $(1.73) per share, for the three months ended December 31, 2009. For the year ended December 31, 2010, Petroplus reported an estimated clean net income of $25 million, or $0.29 per share, compared to an estimated clean net loss of $(260) million, or $(3.36) per share, for the year ended December 31, 2009.

In accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS”) presentation, Petroplus reported net income from continuing operations of $132.2 million, or $1.39 per share, for the three months ended December 31, 2010, compared to a net loss of $(163.4) million, or $(1.89) per share, for the three months ended December 31, 2009. For the year ended December 31, 2010, Petroplus reported a net loss from continuing operations of $(106.9) million, or $(1.16) per share, compared to a net loss of $(108.8) million, or $(1.39) per share, for the year ended December 31, 2009.

For the year ended December 31, 2010, operating clean cash flow (defined as clean net income plus depreciation and amortization less capital expenditures) was approximately $140 million, compared to approximately a negative $300 million in 2009.

With these financial results, Petroplus will exit the waiver period under its Revolving Credit Facility in compliance with all financial covenants.

Presentation slides have been posted on the Investor Relations section of our website at http://investors.petroplusholdings.com. The slides include an example of the estimated impact of the net change in the crude and product price environment for the fourth quarter 2010 results, as well as certain 2011 outlook information.

Jean-Paul Vettier, Petroplus’ Chief Executive Officer, said, "The fourth quarter was the best quarter of the year despite the season and the challenging operating conditions we faced during the period. The industrial actions in France in October impacted Petroplus in several ways. The overall reduction in supply strengthened European refining margins at the beginning of the quarter, which our Coryton, Antwerp and Ingolstadt refineries were able to capture. At the same time, throughput at our Petit Couronne, Reichstett and Cressier refineries was reduced as a result of the strikes. Petit Couronne was also impacted by operational issues during the subsequent restart. Aside from the impact of the strikes on our operations, Petroplus’ refineries ran well during the fourth quarter. Looking back at 2010 as a whole, the company has made great progress in improving our operations through our 3-Year Improvement Plan. I believe we are well on our way to exceeding our goal of improving our breakeven point by $1.25 per barrel by 2012 compared to 2009. We have provided an update on our progress in our fourth quarter earnings presentation.”

Joseph D. Watson, Petroplus’ Chief Financial Officer, said, "The strong quarterly results mean we will now meet all financial covenants under our RCF bank facility and bond indentures. We ended the year in much better financial shape than a year ago. Year-end cash was $179 million, a slight decrease from $189 million at the end of September. Fourth quarter cash outflows were mainly the result of our annual prepayment of German excise duties, which we recapture by rebuilding the normal payables profile in January and February. The cash outflow from the German prepayment was almost completely offset by the proceeds we received in October from the sale of our interest in PBF Energy Company, and by operating clean cash flow for the quarter. We ended the year with no cash borrowings under our RCF and approximately $400 million in headroom under the facility. Our net debt-to-net capitalization ratio improved this year to approximately 43 percent at December 31, 2010, as compared to 48 percent at December 31, 2009.”

Jean-Paul Vettier said, "During the first quarter to date, margins have weakened from fourth quarter levels, but we expect them to strengthen as seasonal refinery maintenance picks up and the global economy continues to strengthen. We expect the markets to remain challenging in 2011 but to improve over 2010, as worldwide GDP and demand for oil products continue to grow. Furthermore, we expect to keep up the pace of the operational improvements that our 3-Year Improvement Plan is delivering.”

The company’s conference call concerning the fourth quarter results will be available live via webcast today, February 3, 2011, at 3:30 p.m. CET on the investor relations section of the Petroplus Holdings AG website at http://investors.petroplusholdings.com or by dialing the following phone number +44 20 7784 1036.

Petroplus further announced that Thomas D. O’Malley’s retirement as Chairman and Member of the Board of Directors, originally announced on December 8, 2010 and effective May 5, 2011, was brought forward to the Petroplus Board meeting yesterday, February 2, 2011, due to the continuing rapid development of PBF Energy Company LLC, of which he is Chairman of the Board of Directors. Patrick Monteiro de Barros, formerly Vice Chairman of the Board, has now succeeded Mr. O’Malley as Chairman.

Mr. O’Malley said, "The transitioning of the Chairmanship has run very smoothly over these past weeks, and Patrick has once again shown his outstanding abilities and knowledge of the refining industry. I feel fully comfortable handing over the Chairmanship to him at this stage. I remain fully confident that Patrick will do an excellent job as Chairman and move the Company in the right direction together with Chief Executive Officer Jean-Paul Vettier’s management team. Going forward, I plan to maintain my large shareholdings in Petroplus.”

Mr. de Barros said, "I have worked closely with Tom and Jean-Paul on the transition over the past two months, and I would like to thank them for the excellent support and help that they have provided during the transition period. I am excited to have succeeded Tom as Chairman, and I feel confident about the future.”

Petroplus Holdings AG is the largest independent refiner and wholesaler of petroleum products in Europe. Petroplus focuses on refining and currently owns and operates six refineries across Europe: the Coryton Refinery on the Thames Estuary in the United Kingdom; the Belgium Refining Corporation Refinery in Antwerp, Belgium; the Petit Couronne Refinery in Petit Couronne, France; the Ingolstadt Refinery in Ingolstadt, Germany; the Reichstett Refinery near Strasbourg, France; and the Cressier Refinery in the canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The refineries have a combined throughput capacity of approximately 752,000 barrels per day.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including the company’s current expectations with respect to future market conditions, future operating results, the future performance of its refinery operations, and other plans. Words such as "expects,” "intends,” "plans,” "projects,” "believes,” "estimates,” "may,” "will,” "should,” "shall,” and similar expressions typically identify such forward-looking statements. Even though Petroplus believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained.