Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding Company (MPHC) has declared a net profit of QR716mn with earnings-per-share of QR0.57 at the end of September 30, 2016.
The company - with interests in the production of olefins, poly-olefins, alpha olefins and chlor-alkali products - had however reported a higher net profit of QR786mn, translating into earnings-per-share of QR0.63 during January-September 2015.
The year-on-year decrease (in net profit) was due to decline in selling prices despite improved sales volumes in the midst of a challenging market. This reduction was partially offset by the cost savings arising from the cost optimisation initiatives undertaken by the group, a MPHC spokesman said.
“The financial and operating results were commendable despite the fluctuations in prices, and exceeded the budget expectations primarily due to the increase in sales volumes,” he said, adding with the successful completion of the periodic turnaround in some of the plants in the previous year, the production and sales volumes increased during the year.
MPHC’s profit was also aided by a tax refund of approximately QR65mn booked during the period. The group also continued to benefit from the supply of competitively priced ethane feedstock and fuel gas under long-term supply agreements, the spokesman said, adding these contractual arrangements are an important value driver for the group profitability in a challenging market condition.
Highlighting that the group continued to operate in a highly volatile and competitive environment, MPHC said the group’s operations were hindered by the volatility in selling prices.
The product prices declined 11% vis-à-vis the same period of the previous year due to oil price plunge and challenging market conditions.
The closing cash position, after the first nine months of operations and distribution of previous years’ QR851mn dividend, was at a “robust” QR922mn as on September 30, 2016.
The total assets were valued at QR14.1bn in the first nine months of this year compared to QR14.3bn in the corresponding period of the previous year.