Liquefied natural gas importer Petronet LNG has reported a 58 per cent increase in its net profit at ₹247.50 crore for the first quarter of the current fiscal. In the same quarter last year, the company had reported a net profit of ₹156.6 crore.

However, the company’s total revenue during the quarter fell 17.5 per cent to ₹8,377 crore against ₹10,160.82 crore in the same quarter last year.

At its board meeting on Thursday, the company also named Prabhat Singh currently Director (Marketing) at GAIL (India) as its new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director.

The increase in profit was primarily on account of a tax provisioning due to a favourable judgment from the Income Tax Department, which led to ₹70 crore benefit, said RK Garg, Director Finance and Acting CEO and MD, Petronet LNG, here on Thursday.

Garg added that the benefit will keep continuing for at least three to four more years.

Petronet LNG’s offtake from Qatar’s RasGas has been 68 per cent of its contracted capacity in the first half of this calendar year. The company has a 25 year contract to source 7.5 million tonne per annum of LNG from RasGas. In the first half of the calendar year, Petronet has taken only 68 per cent of 3.75 million tonne that was supposed to be taken by June 30.

“Even our offtakers have not been taking the entire capacity that has been contracted. Since both the Qatar and offtakers is on a calendar year basis, the liability towards take-or-pay, whatever we have to pay to Qatar if occurs at the end of the year, there is a take-or-pay with our offtakers also,” said Garg. This is mainly because gas in spot market is cheaper.

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