Dana Gas swings to net loss of Dh681m

Dan Gas said it swung into a net loss in 2018 due to one-time cash impairments. The Middle East’s largest private sector natural gas company said it reported a loss of Dh681 million in 2018 compared to a net profit of Dh304 million.

The impairments follow the annual year-end oil and gas reserves valuation of its Zora field in the UAE and its fields in Egypt, and which required them to take an exceptional one-off noncash impairment of Dh685 million for Zora and Dh216 million in Egypt, the company said in a statement.

Higher revenue

Revenue was 4 per cent higher at Dh1.7 billion compared with last year’s Dh1.65 billion due to higher realised prices of gas.

“2018 was a year of strong operational performance for Dana Gas. We delivered, a 30 per cent increase in gas production ... We made large savings from restructuring the sukuk, we achieved higher collections and the company paid its first dividend,” Dr Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas said.

In 2018, the company concluded the sukuk restructuring and a buyback programme, which together has reduced the sukuk from $700 million (Dh2.57 billion|) to $399 million. The company will save $40 million in ongoing annual financing costs. Notwithstanding the sukuk payments and a cash dividend of $95 million, the company’s cash balance at year end was $407 million.