Gas producer Romgaz Medias derived net profit worth 274.5 million RON (74.4 million euros) in the first three months of the year, an increase of 95.2 percent against the same time last year, when the company posted 140.65 million RON (41.6 million euros). The cold winter triggered an increase in the volume of gas supplied, so that the biggest local gas producer registered better than expected results over this period. At the same time, the profit accounts for more than 50 percent of the entire 509.5 million RON (152.5 million euros) net profit posted last year.
"The growth in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the same time in 2007 is primarily due to the increase in the amount of natural gas supplied from both current production and from storage facilities. The increase in the volume of natural gas supplied was caused by the lower temperatures this year compared with last year," company officials said.
Turnover stood at 1.09 billion RON (295.7 million euros) in the first three months of 2008, an increase of 23.6 percent on the first quarter of 2007, when Romgaz posted turnover worth 882.86 million RON (261 million euros).
"The volume of natural gas supplied in the first quarter of the year was 20.7 percent higher than the level supplied in the corresponding period last year, whilst storage services witnessed a 134.8 percent increase, both due to the amounts extracted and to the increase in the storage rate, according to the legislation in force. The results registered are better than those set in the spending and revenue budget for the January-March 2008 period," Romgaz representatives explained.
At the same time, the Romgaz is about to sign agreements with foreign companies to lease gas blocks in Poland and Slovakia, said the state-run company's deputy general manager Lucian Stancu.
The development strategy of the company, controlled by the Economy and Finance Ministry, targets involvement in gas production or the building of gas storage facilities outside the country, including Central Asia. Romgaz and Petrom are the only local natural gas producers, which jointly cover approximately 65 percent of the consumption needs, estimated at about 17 billion cubic metres yearly. The rest is covered exclusively from imported gas from Russia via Gazprom.
The company posted 3.27 billion RON (979.5 million euros) in turnover last year, an increase of 7 percent compared with the figures posted in 2006, when turnover stood at 3.05 billion RON (866 million euros). Net profit reached 509.5 million RON (152.5m euros), compared with the 463.7 million RON (131.5 million euro) net income logged in 2006.
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