Adani Gas Q3 net more than doubles to Rs 114 crore
Adani Gas on Wednesday said its net profit for the December quarter more than doubled year-on-year (y-o-y) to Rs 114 crore on account of higher demand for compressed natural gas (CNG) and piped natural gas (PNG). The overall sales volumes grew 12% y-o-y during the quarter. PNG sales volumes were up 16% on year and CNG volumes were up 7% on year. Suresh P Manglani, chief executive officer of Adani Gas, told FE that the demand was driven by new retail outlets, piped natural gas connections to homes, and commercial and industrial connections during the December quarter.
“We have added 2 new geographical areas in Surendranagar and Kheda, in additon to Palwal and Porbandar geographical areas we received in the 9th round of auctions by PNGRB,” Manglani said.
The earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for the December quarter rose 46% y-o-y to Rs 156 crore, as revenue from operations was up 7% y-o-y to Rs 519 crore. Operating margins were higher by 800 basis points y-o-y to 30% on higher realisations and lower expenses during the quarter. Total expenses in the third quarter fell 5% y-o-y to Rs 385.5 crore as cost of fuel fell to Rs 282 crore against Rs 308 crore a year ago. The company has increased its PNG homes connections to 4.25 lakh by connecting over 5,500 homes in the third quarter. The commercial and industrial connections have increased to a total of 4,390, of which 251 new connections were added in Q3FY20. The company has also operationalised 6 new CNG stations, taking the total to 92 CNG stations.
Adani Gas has four operational geographical areas, serving customers with natural gas under city gas distribution (CGD) model. “We plan to operationalise another 15 geographies that we won under the 9th and 10th round of auctions, by Q4FY21. If we include the geographical areas in joint venture with Indian Oil, it will take our total geographical areas to 38. We will spend around Rs 5,000 crore over 5 years in developing the geographical areas, reaching more than 71 districts across the country.” With regard to Total’s offer to buy 37.4% stake in Adani Gas, Manglani said: “The primary offer is complete and we have got a Total nominee on board Adani Gas. However, the secondary offer is still being worked. We are hopeful the deal will materialise before March 31, 2020, or as soon as possible.”
