City gas distributor Gujarat Gas Limited has recorded 17 per cent dip in standalone net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, at Rs 369 crore, as against Rs 444 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
Standalone revenues from operations dipped by 15 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4,074 crore (Rs 4,774 crore).
For the full year, GGL posted net profit of Rs 1,525 crore, up 19 per cent from Rs 1,286 crore in the previous year. Standalone revenues for the year stood at Rs 17,306 crore, up from Rs 16,787 crore a year ago.
In its regulatory filing, the company informed that the board of directors met on Thursday and recommended a dividend of Rs 6.65 per equity share of Rs 2 each for the financial year 2022-23.
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“For the quarter ended March 31, 2023, the company reported a smart recovery in total gas sales volume. The company sold 8.86 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) of volume as compared to 7.29 mmscmd registered in the preceding quarter, an increase of 22 per cent. This was due to the sharp correction in the spot LNG prices, which the company decided to pass on to its industrial customers to improve their competitiveness,” the company statement said.
It also noted that the compressed natural gas (CNG) category continued to witness strong momentum, as the consumer started to benefit from favourable government policies on the new administered price mechanism (APM) gas policy, capping the price of APM gas at $6.5 per mmbtu, while the Gujarat government reduced VAT from 15 per cent to 5 per cent, thereby making CNG/PNG more affordable.
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During the year, the company added close to 1.8 lakh domestic customers, 102 CNG stations, 1,200-plus commercial and industrial customers, with a cumulative volume close to 7 lakh scmd in fiscal 2022-23. Similarly, during the quarter the company connected over 50,000 new domestic customers, added 60 CNG stations and commissioned 400-plus commercial and industrial customers.
Gujarat Gas shares gained over 5 per cent to trade at Rs 488.55 in early trades on Thursday.