Petronet LNG, India’s largest importer of the chilled gas, said its net profit for the quarter ended June 30 rose 58 percent to Rs 247.50 crore, as compared to the same period a year ago.
The company’s revenues fell 17.5 percent to Rs 8410.50 crore during the quarter from Rs 10196.14 crore in the same quarter last year on lower volumes.
Petronet LNG said in its results report released on Thursday that its regasified LNG off-take under long-term contracts with off-takers was about 68 percent of the quantity planned for the six months ended June.
This led to lower off-take of LNG by Petronet under its long-term contract it has with RasGas of Qatar, the report said.
Petronet buys 7.5 million tonnes of LNG per year from RasGas under a 25-year contract the two companies signed in 1999.
According to media reports, Petronet LNG has this year deferred taking deliveries of more than 20 cargoes from Qatar as it is seeking a lower price for the chilled gas it imports.
The high price of LNG under the long-term contract has led to users in fertiliser and power industry finding it cheaper to use alternate fuels like naphtha and fuel oil, Reuters reports.
1 Indian rupee = 0.015625 U.S. dollars
LNG World News Staff; Image: Petronet LNG