ERG SpA (ERG.MI), Italy's biggest independent refiner by capacity, Thursday said it swung to a fourth-quarter net loss from a net profit on the year, hurt by weaker demand due to the economic slump and as the sector witnessed a crash in key refining margins.

In a statement, ERG said it plans to pay a dividend of EUR0.40 a share, from EUR0.90/share the year before. The 2008 dividend included a special EUR0.50/share for a sale to Russian oil major OAO Lukoil Holdings (LKOH.RS).

Fourth-quarter net loss was EUR7 million, compared with a net profit of EUR290 million in the same period of 2008.

ERG said that in the fourth quarter 2009 it posted an adjusted net loss--which doesn't include changes to the value of inventories and is a key figure for sector analysts--of EUR27 million compared with a EUR12 million loss in the same period 2008.

Gross operating profit in October-December period totaled EUR93 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of EUR571 million, while revenue dropped to EUR1.734 billion from EUR2.01 billion.

ERG has scheduled a conference for 1700 GMT Thursday to comment on the results.

Thursday, ERG shares closed at EUR9.56, or 0.52% lower, while Italy's benchmark FTSE MIb Index advanced 0.46%.

Company Web site: http://www.erg.it

-By Liam Moloney, Dow Jones Newswires; +39 06 6976 6924; liam.moloney@dowjones.com
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