Dana Gas posts 180pc increase in profits in Q1

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DUBAI, May 12 (Arabian Business.com): Sharjah-based natural gas outfit Danas Gas has announced a 180-per cent hike in net profits to $25m during the first quarter, boosted by production growth and the higher oil price. The company said that revenue from hydrocarbons sales rose by 50 per cent to $168m, while gross profits on that revenue soared by 108 per cent. Overall production rose by 34 per cent year-on-year. In addition, Dana Gas said that the results did not include an $89-million unrealised gain from its investment in Hungarian energy company MOL. The firm boosted Egyptian production by 20 per cent in the quarter, year-on-year, helped by new fields brought online in March. It also increased production in Kurdistan by 80 per cent to 1.75 million barrels of oil equivalent. "Dana Gas' impressive exploration performance in Egypt continues with our twenty second discovery in the Nile Delta, of which we are particularly proud as we have continued our operations uninterrupted throughout the changes to the Egyptian political landscape," said Dana Gas CEO Ahmed Al Arbeed. "Furthermore, with the successful completion of our gas processing plant in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, we continue to demonstrate the depth of our operational excellence, and we are now producing gas, condensate and LPG."