Business

Corporate results: SSGC losses swell 87% to Rs9.37 billion

Surcharge payment, increased financial cost cited as main reasons

Our Correspondent June 21, 2016

Surcharge payment, increased financial cost cited as main reasons. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: Consolidated losses of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) swelled 87% to Rs9.37 billion in nine months ended March 31, 2016 due to payment of a huge gas development surcharge, according to a bourse filing.

The company’s losses in the same nine months of the previous year stood at Rs5 billion.

Accordingly, the loss per share was Rs10.65 in the period under review compared to Rs5.68 in the same period last year, according to an SSGC notification to the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

The company paid Rs20.19 billion on account of gas development surcharge in the nine-month period against receipt of Rs4.08 billion in the same period last year.

Besides, a significant increase in financial cost and decline in both other operating income and non-operating income also played a part in increasing the losses.

The finance cost surged 18% to Rs8.57 billion in nine months (July 2015 to March 2016) from Rs7.24 billion during the corresponding period of previous year.

Other operating income fell 19% to Rs1.66 billion from Rs2.05 billion last year. Other non-operating income dropped 38% to Rs5.23 billion from Rs8.46 billion in the previous year.

Sales of the company stood at Rs160.97 billion, which were 21% higher than Rs133.23 billion in the corresponding period of previous year.

Net sales - after the deduction of sales tax and gas development surcharge - however were recorded at Rs117.13 billion, which was 2% lower than Rs120.05 billion in the same period of previous year.

Gas losses at 7%

A court of law has allowed SSGC to set gas losses (unaccounted for gas or UFG) at 7% instead of 4.5% as determined by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), the notification said.

It said the company had filed a petition in the court against the Ogra decision dated December 18, 2015 and the court granted a stay order on May 16, 2016 on the lines of an interim order passed for the year ended June 30, 2015, ie, allowing UFG at 7% and royalty income from Jamshoro Join Venture Limited, profit from meter manufacturing, late payment surcharge and sale of gas condensate as non-operating income.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2016.

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COMMENTS (1)

Parvez | 8 years ago | Reply .......and we have none other than Mr. Zardari to blame for this. A well run, profitable organization before the PPP-Z came into power and in 5 years the PPP-Z's policies destroyed this organization.

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