Helleniq Energy protests levy on refining companies
The chief executive officer of Helleniq Energy, Andreas Shiamishis, referred on Thursday to the imposition of an extraordinary levy on the refineries’ excessive profits, saying that its amount is not yet known and that it will not affect the dividend of 2023 but of 2024 and 2025.
As he said, the extraordinary levy is not a Greek phenomenon but a European directive; however, it is based on a mistake, that it refers to excess profit. “There are no excess profits, we don’t charge more than we have to. When the basis of comparison is the years we had the pandemic, even one euro of earnings today will seem like excessive profit. It is a construction of Europe,” he emphasized.
Shiamishis went on to state that 50% of the group’s profits come from exports: “Our company is already operating as an energy hub, we are investing billions in it and 50% of the profitability does not come from Greece. Together with Motor Oil we add value to the Greek economy, profits, taxes, jobs and influence in the region. The timing is not the best, it’s a bit surprising but we will deal with it,” he emphasized.
