In the upcoming period, Ina must operate on market principles according to which everything it produces and trades should be treated as goods, said Tomislav Dragičević, the CEO of Ina, at today’s traditional Christmas and New Year press conference.
If it is allowed to operate fully on market terms, Ina should not have long-term profitability issues, Dragičević assessed. According to him, this also applies to liquefied petroleum gas, which is used among other things to power vehicles, adding that market principles must also apply to it, and that any extra margins can be controlled. Commenting on the current dispute with Slovenia and its impact on Ina’s operations, Dragičević stated that Ina is not significantly present in Slovenia and that he expects this to change after Croatia joins the European Union. The head of Ina, at today’s press conference, explained that it is a festive and ceremonial occasion, and he did not wish to answer a series of journalistic questions that concerned the assessment of business results and possible changes in the company’s management considering MOL’s significant entry into the ownership structure. He only mentioned that Ina should realize its investment program in the coming year without additional borrowing and that the company has no liquidity issues. When asked if the company has any austerity measures given the expected tougher general business conditions in 2009, he replied that there are no special measures, except that the heads of Ina’s sectors have the task of not exceeding the defined budgets. Speaking about global trends, he stated that fluctuations in oil prices on the world market depend primarily on geopolitical reasons, and only then are they a result of economic laws. (H)
