UAE's Dana Gas says Q4 profit rises 12pc

DUBAI: Dana Gas made a net profit of 128 million dirhams ($34.9 million) in the fourth quarter of 2013, up 12 percent from a year earlier, the United Arab Emirates energy company said on Sunday.

Net profit for the full year fell 6 percent to 571 million dirhams, due in part to rising royalty payments to the Egyptian government and lower sales of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Dana Gas said in its preliminary results statement that it had not received any significant payments from Kurdistan since July 2013 and was pushing for payments to resume as soon as possible. "In the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, we continue to maintain operations and deliver on our commitments," Chief Executive Officer Patrick Allman-Ward said.

"We have also taken action to resolve our issues with the KRG and confirm our contractual rights."

The company collected $134 million in Egypt last year, leaving the trade receivables balance for its operations there at $274 million at the end of December.

It collected $69 million from Kurdistan in early 2013, but the flow of funds dried up over summer, leaving a trade receivable balance of $515 million at the end of 2013 - up from $354 at the end of 2012. Non-payment prompted the company to file an arbitration case in October to confirm its rights under a 2007 contract with the Kurdish region government (KRG).

Dana, which leads a consortium of investors in Kurdistan, said on Sunday that a London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) tribunal had been set up to hear the case. Dana Gas also said it expected its Zora offshore gas field project to star

t supplying around 40 million cubic feet per day of gas to northern parts of the UAE from early 2015. Delays in getting paid for operations in Kurdistan and Egypt contributed to Dana having to restructure a $920 million Islamic bond in April 2013.

In January 2014, Dana said it had received conversion notices for $38 million out of a $425 million convertible Islamic bond, which was issued as part of the restructuring.