UAE-based energy producer Dana Gas swung to a profit in the first six months of the year after suffering a loss in the same period last year, as the rebound in oil prices continued and operations improved. 

In a statement on Wednesday, the firm reported a net profit of $139 million for the January to June period, compared to a loss of $19 million a year earlier, making the first half of 2021 one of its strongest. 

As a result of higher net profit, Dana’s retained earnings also turned from accumulated losses of $20 million to positive $142 million, which is expected to underpin the energy producer’s ability to pay dividends to its shareholders in the future. 

“The company has delivered a very strong set of results for the first half of 2021 as a result of our robust financial and operational performance supported by the rebound in oil prices,” said Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas. 

“Our revenues grew by 19 percent in the first six months which, coupled with our low-cost structure, has helped the company increase gross profits by 133 percent and generate a net profit of $139 million,” Ward said. 

Production 

The company’s average production in the first half of the year stood at 64,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), slightly up from 63,250 a year earlier. This was due to the 8 percent increase in output in the company’s operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). Egypt’s production, however declined by six percent due to “natural field depletion”. 

Dana Gas Egypt’s operational cash flow also went up in the first half of the year by 175 percent to $80 million, reflecting the increase in oil price and higher collections. 

The firm was earlier supposed to divest its Egyptian onshore assets but later retracted the plan. 

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria) 

Cleofe.maceda@refinitiv.com 

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© ZAWYA 2021