ButanGas business down 17%, but returns to profit

ButanGas Romania, one of the leading players on the LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) distribution market, posted a 62.3 million-RON (14.6 million-euro) turnover in the first three months of this year, down 17% against the similar period of last year, amid a reduction in the amount sold on the LPG market. "The turnover declined because the product is cheaper compared with last year, whilst amounts sold are also lower in the context of the crisis. We recorded the biggest declines on the autogas segment, where volumes were down by around 20% against the first three months of last year, while the gas cylinder segment declined by 10%. The only market segment that met our forecasts was the gas tank segment," said Florin Preda, general manager of ButanGas Romania. Despite this decline, the company returned to making gains, recording a 3.4 million-RON (0.8 million-euro) net profit in the first three months of this year, as opposed to 3.67 million-RON (around one million-euro) losses in the first quarter of 2008.