Dana Gas PJSC, a Middle Eastern private sector natural gas company, has seen full year production rise 8%, driven by a 14% jump in Egyptian output to 13.4 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) from 11.8 mmboe in 2012.
This resulted in a marginal increase in full year gross revenues to $ 652 million from $ 633 million in 2012. Q4 revenues rose sharply to $ 186 million versus Q4 2012 when it was $ 151 million.
Although Q4 2013 net profit rose by 12% to $ 35 million from $31 million in Q4 2012 the Company’s net profit for the year was down 5% to $156 million from $165 million in 2012. This was due to an increase in royalty payments to the Egyptian government, a higher depreciation, depletion and amortization expense in Egypt as well as lower sales of high-margin LPG in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (‘KRI’). The lower sales of LPG were due to the repair of the LPG loading facilities at the Khor Mor facility in the first half of the year and to under lifting by the Ministry of Natural Resource (“MNR”) of Kurdistan Region Government of Iraq (“KRG”) since the facility came back on stream in July 2013.
Dana Gas’s full year cash balance improved by 24% to $204 million from $164 million, thereby strengthening the balance sheet. Total assets at the end of 2013 increased to $3.52 billion.
Commenting on the results, Dr. Adel Al-Sabeeh, Chairman of the Board, said: “2013 was a year of significant achievements and steady progress for Dana Gas, despite the on-going challenges in the region. Natural gas is now the fastest growing energy source worldwide, and with half of the global reserves in our region, Dana Gas will Inshallah continue to play a growing role in this vital sector as we look to the future. As a Company, we have achieved positive results and also strengthened our management team. In addition the Board of Directors is actively engaged on all matters and focused on delivering maximum value to our esteemed investors.”
Dr. Patrick Allman-Ward, Chief Executive Officer, added: “Dana Gas achieved a good performance last year, despite the challenges, and the share price performance is a reflection of the confidence shown in the company and its future by both regional and international investors. In Egypt, we significantly increased production and the payment of outstanding receivables by the Government has continued. In the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, we continue to maintain operations and deliver on our commitments. We have also taken action to resolve our issues with the KRG and confirm our contractual rights, which we believe is in the best interests of our investors. In the UAE, we awarded the contract for the Zora Gas Field offshore platform and I am also excited about the prospects of exploring new fields and concessions across the Middle East region.”
