Sharjah-based Dana Gas profit fell last year on lower oil and gas prices

Dana Gas, one of the largest private natural gas companies in the Middle East, has reported a 12.1 per cent annual drop in its profit for 2023 on lower oil and gas prices.

The Sharjah-based company’s net profit for the 12 months that ended in December declined to Dh586 million ($159.5 million), it said in a filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded. Net revenue for the period fell to Dh1.55 billion last year, compared with Dh1.94 billion in 2022.

“2023 was an operationally strong year for Dana Gas, but not without its challenges,” said Richard Hall, chief executive of Dana Gas. However, the company achieved “record” natural gas production from its operations in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, which underscores Dana Gas’s ability to optimise resources, Mr Hall said.

Dana Gas said it was not in a position to recommend a dividend at an upcoming shareholder’s meeting as Pearl Petroleum, an affiliate, did not pay dividends to its stakeholders last year.

Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum have a 35 per cent stake each in the company, which has operations in the Iraq’s Kurdistan region. “Dana Gas remains committed to its declared dividend policy, and to reinstating dividend payments as soon as the company’s cash receipts permit,” it said.

In November, Dana Gas had said that it would consider an annual dividend payment in March 2024 after suspending its interim dividend for the first half of 2023.

The decision was driven by the company’s continued challenge of delayed collections in the Iraq’s Kurdistan region and Egypt, where combined receivables stood at $151 million as of December 31, 2023.