GAIL annual profit up marginally, Q4 PAT zooms to 67 pc

New Delhi, May 9 (UNI) State-run GAIL (India) Ltd's net profit for the financial year 2006-07 went up marginally to Rs 2,387 crore from Rs 2,310 crore in the previous year, while its Q4 Profit After Tax (PAT) sky-rocketed to 67 per cent due to an overall increase in the natural gas business, polymer sales and LPG transmission.

The fourth quarter profit stood at Rs 680.73 crore as compared to Rs 409.26 crore for the corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal.

Turnover in 2006-07 went up 11 per cent to Rs 16,047 crore from Rs 14,459 crore in the previous year, company's Chairman U D Choubey told reporters here.

GAIL plans to invest Rs 25,000 crore in the next five years in pipeline, E&P and petrochemical projects out of which Rs 10,000 crore will be through internal accruals and th rest will be through borrowings, he added.

The company's net profit during the last ten years has shown a compounded annual growth rate of 14 per cent.

Mr Choubey said the net profit of Rs 2,387 crore was achieved despite 40 per cent increase in subsidy sharing in domestic LPG and PDS kerosene from Rs 1,064 crore in 2005-06 to Rs 1,488 crore in 2006-07 and increased cost of operations owing to floods, higher cost of natural gas as feedstock for processing plants and fuel for compressors.

He said without the subsidy element, the profir before tax (PBT) would have risen by 33 per cent to Rs 4,348 crore and PAT by 49 per cent to Rs 3,444 crore.

The increase in turnover was achieved despite the fact that gas supply was affected for about one month in the second quarter during 2006-07 due to floods in Hazira, Gujarat.

GAIL's total income has increased 6.73 per cent to Rs 3,996.30 crore for the quarter ended March 31 from Rs 3,744.22 crore in the year-ago period.

During the year 2006-07, gas salse increased marginally to 67.83 MMSCMD from 67.63 MMSCMD in the previous year, while the total liquid hydrocarbon production including LPG was over 1.343 million metric tonnes as compared to previous year's production of 1.325 million.

The company produced 1.03 million of LPG during the year against a production of 1.04 million in the last fiscal. LPG transmission through LPG pipelines was 2.491 million MT in the year 2006-07 as against 2.299 million MT in 2005-06.

During the fiscal, GAIL completed Jagoti-Pithampur, Thulendi-Phulpur, Kailaras-Malnapur and Vijaipur-Kota natural gas pipeline projects.

UNI