The ELPE (Hellenic Petroleum) refinery in Aspropyrgos, slightly west of Athens, yesterday recommenced producing gasoline following repair work to a unit that was struck by technical issues several days earlier.

The repair work needed at the damaged refinery, which produces all of ELPE’s gasoline output, was completed on Saturday.

ELPE is scheduled to announce its 3Q results this Thursday. Analysts have forecast an upward trajectory ahead of new record figures at the end of the year.

An Investment Bank of Greece (IBG) analysis expects ELPE’s 3Q net profit to reach 100 million euros, which would represent a 29 percent year-on-year increase. If the impact of currency exchange rates is removed, the net profit would be 75.5 million euros, a marginal 0.5 percent increase compared to a year earlier, according to the IBG analysis.

It has forecast a 3Q EBITDA figure of 228 million euros, up 15 percent year-on-year, and a net EBITDA performance of 193 million euros.

ELPE is expected to post record figures at the end of the year as a result of the local market’s continuously rising geostrategic importance.

In 2016, ELPE posted an EBITDA figure of 731 million euros, while production reached 14.8 million tons, up 16 percent year-on-year, setting a new corporate group record.