UAE's Dana Gas reports 71 pct Q2 profit jump as capex slashed

UBAI - 15 August 2017: United Arab Emirates-based energy firm Dana Gas on Tuesday reported a 71 percent leap in second-quarter profit as energy prices rose and it cut capital spending.

Dana made a net profit of $12 million in the three months to June 30. This compares to a profit of $7 million in the prior-year period, it said in a statement.

The company has been struggling to recover overdue payments from Egypt and Iraqi Kurdistan. It has also been taking legal action to avoid redeeming $700 million of its Islamic bonds when they mature in October, arguing that the instruments have become illegal in the UAE.

During the first half of the year, Dana Gas collected $198 million in payments, the bulk of which came from Egypt at $135 million, with a further $55 million collected from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, it said.

However, the company added that it had $60 million in financial commitments in Egypt accumulated during the last 18 months of drilling activity there.

Its total trade receivables balance fell to $900 million at the end of June from $982 million at the end of December, the company said.

Dana said total average group production was 67,550 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first half of the year, 6 percent higher than the same period of 2016.

But capital expenditure in the first half of the year was down 84 percent to $13 million as the company said it continued to balance spending with available sources of cash.