29 – Contingent liabilities

OMV recognizes provisions for litigations if these are more likely than not to result in obligations. Management is of the opinion that litigations, to the extent not covered by provisions or insurance, there is either no present obligation and/or the outflow is remote and/or they will not materially affect the Group’s financial position.

OMV entered into guarantees as part of the ordinary course of the Group’s business, mainly under credit facilities granted by banks, without cash collateral. No material losses are likely to arise from these. Further information on financial guarantees is included in Note 30 – Risk management.

On April 16, 2020, the Bulgarian Commission on Protection of Competition announced the initiation of an investigation into how prices are determined on the fuel market. OMV Bulgaria EOOD is a subject of this investigation, among other major manufacturers and retailers on the Bulgarian market. During 2020, two requests for information were received from authorities and the responses were submitted in due time. There were no additional requests from the authorities in 2021, 2022, and 2023, but the investigation is not yet finalized. The sanctions for antitrust infringements are up to 10% of the total company’s turnover of the respective undertaking for the financial year prior to the sanctioning decision. At the date of these financial statements, OMV is not able to evaluate the outcome of the investigation and no provision was recorded in this respect.

As of December 31, 2023, one other proceeding was pending against OMV that related to local service contractors in one of the subsidiaries. OMV’s share of the claimed amount is around USD 330 mn. Management currently does not believe that any of the alleged matters will have a material effect on the financial position or results of operations. However, this assessment is based on assumptions deemed reasonable by management including those about future events and uncertainties. The outcome of these matters is ultimately uncertain, such that unanticipated events and circumstances might occur that might cause management to change these assumptions and give rise to a material adverse effect on the financial position in the future.