Dana Gas posts 15% rise in revenue to Dh276m

Dubai: Dana Gas, the Middle East's first and largest regional private sector natural gas company, yesterday reported a 15 per cent increase in its quarterly revenue to Dh276 million for the third quarter of 2007, with a gross quarterly profit of Dh72 million.

Dana Gas's posted a net profit of Dh22 million for the quarter after adjusting for non-cash depreciation and depletion of Dh56 million and finance costs of Dh30 million.

The company generated total revenue of Dh719 million in 264 days of production for the nine-month period ended September 30, with a gross profit of Dh184 million at a gross margin of 46 per cent of net revenue.

Dana Gas earned a net profit of Dh72 million after adjusting for non-cash depreciation and depletion of Dh170 million and finance costs of Dh100 million including a one-time transaction fee of Dh20 million.

Hamid Dhiya Jafar, executive chairman of Dana Gas, said: "The company has achieved a number of major milestones in 2007.

"Dana Gas has shown that, within less than two years since inception, it has emerged as an important player in the region's growing gas business and in the international energy industry. This is evident from the beginning of the year, with the $1.1 billion acquisition of Centurion and important assets in Egypt, followed by the signing of important agreements for a major project in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and of course, the most recent success of the $1 billion convertible sukuk in international markets."

The group's long-term assets have more than doubled from Dh4 billion in 2006 to Dh8.2 billion.

Total assets of the group have also increased by 30 per cent to Dh8.9 billion during the period, with shareholder equity rising to Dh6.88 billion.