Petronet LNG's Q4FY13 Topline Grows By 32.8%

The state-run LNG importer Petronet LNG has put on a decent show in terms of turnover during FY13 to achieve its highest ever topline of Rs 31467 core, a growth of 39% on a YOY basis. During this period, the company’s PAT also jumped by 8.67% over the last year to touch Rs 1149 crore. Though there is an increase in the net profit but the PAT margin has declined from 4.66% in FY12 to 3.65% in FY13, which is a drag in the performance of the company.

Through this performance, the company’s EPS has improved from Rs 14.10 to Rs 15.32. During Q4 too, the company’s turnover rose to Rs 8465.63 crore from Rs 6375.43 crore in March 2012, a handsome growth of 32.8%. The company’s board has recommended a dividend of Rs 2.50 per share.

“During FY13, we have operated more than our installed capacity and our main Dahej terminal had a capacity utilisation of 103%, which allowed us to achieve a decent growth in the topline,” commented A K Balyan, MD Petronet LNG. Over the growth in PAT not being in sync with the topline, he said, “It was mainly due to 2 reasons; firstly, there is a big fluctuation in the price of the dollar due to which profits are being impacted. Also, during the year, the cost of LNG has gone up, thereby hampering the margins.”

The company was also able to cut its finance cost from Rs 177.39 crore in FY12 to Rs 118.41 crore in FY13. “We have gone for finance restructuring whereby we have prepaid foreign loans to the tune of Rs 500 crore and also done some refinancing, taking some cheaper loans,” informed Balyan. Going forward, the company is bullish on gas imports as prices in the international markets have softened a bit to USD 14/15 per unit. In line with this, the company has initiated the process of expanding the capacity of its Dahej terminal to 15 MMTPA and for this, the EPC contract will be awarded by September 2013. Also, the company’s greenfield Kochi LNG terminal is mechanically ready and will be commissioned by July 2013. 

The company also has plans to construct a terminal with a capacity of 5 million tonnes on the east coast at Gangavaram, Andhra Pradesh, for which the process of shortlisting potential contractors is on.