GAIL PBT up 62% in Q4 to ~3,598 crore

State-run GAIL (India) has posted 62 per cent increase in its consolidated profit before tax (PBT) in Q4 of 201920 (FY20) ended March to ~3,598.7 crore, compared to ~2,226.8 crore during the same period last year.

The consolidated revenue for the period under review has seen a decline by 6 per cent, from ~19,078.3 crore during the January-march quarter of 2018-19 (FY19) to ~17,938 crore in the fourth quarter of FY20. For FY20, the consolidated PBT increased 6 per cent from ~9,831.19 crore to ~10,428.94 crore. Its consolidated revenue from operations stood at ~72,567.7 crore, down 5 per cent, from ~76,234.1 crore in FY19. Manoj Jain, CMD, GAIL (India), said lower price realisation from key segments — petrochemicals and natural gas — had an impact on its financial numbers. On the other hand, profit was owing to the adoption of a lower tax regime.

During the financial year under review, the total capex was ~6,100 crore. For 2020-21, the firm has kept its capex between ~4,000 and ~5,000 crore, a majority of which will be spent on the pipeline business. The firm indicated that because of the lockdown for the first two months, there might be some impact on the capex numbers.

When asked about the Covid impact on gas sales, Jain said, “There was some force majeure from our side and from the consumer side. For us, there has not been any significant impact of force majeure, as fertiliser and power were affected much. In addition, there was only rescheduling of supply.”