The Hindu Business Line : Gujarat Gas Q3 net drops, sales up

Gujarat Gas Company Ltd, a subsidiary of BG Group Plc, has registered dip in profit after tax to Rs 21.4 crore (Rs 24 crore) for the third quarter ended September. However, net sales rose by 27 per cent to Rs 227.8 crore (Rs 179.6 crore).

Pre-tax transmission income fell to Rs 2.5 crore (Rs 6.6 crore). The flood at Surat impacted the company's bottomline during the period under review.

Additionally, there was sharp depreciation of the rupee compared to last year, which increased gas purchase cost by Rs 5.23 crore.

Daily sales volume crossed 33 lakh standard cubic m (scm) during the period, with CNG sales hitting a new high of over 1.5 lakh scm a day (scmd).

Industrial retail sales volume also crossed 20 lakh scmd.

In order to support this growth, the company entered into a new contract to buy 16.5 lakh scmd of gas, which is expected to be available by the third quarter of 2007.

Surat, one of the main operational locations of the company, was affected by floods, which resulted in one-time impact of Rs 4 crore before tax.

For the first nine months of the current year, consolidated net sales have gone up to Rs 670.9 crore (Rs 506.3 crore), an increase of 33 per cent, while profit after tax has fallen to Rs 70.2 crore (Rs 85.2 crore).