Net profit at Uzbekneftegaz (UNG) contracted 53% y/y to Uzbekistani som (UZS) 611.6bn ($48.4mn) in 2023, according to investment company Kapital Depozit.
The bottom line represented a fivefold decrease compared to the annual net profit of UZS 3.3 trillion posted in 2022.
Also in 2023, UNG’s assets rose 13.1% y/y to UZS 89.1 trillion, while revenue gained by 11.2% y/y to UZS 14.7 trillion.
Shareholders' equity dropped by 2.9% y/y to 48 trillion som.
Dividend payments doubled to UZS 2.5 trillion. Long-term bank loans showed a slight decrease from UZS 18 trillion to UZS 17.6 trillion. Short-term loans tripled from UZS 746.8bn to UZS 2.2 trillion som.
UNG’s gas production remained on a downward curve last year. Uzbekistan is stepping up imports of Russian gas to compensate for the lack of domestic gas resource options.
The company, meanwhile, transferred ownership of its UNG Petro fuel stations and Chinaz petroleum refinery plant to Daniyar Kamilov’s Petroleum Technology Group.
UNG is a fully state-owned integrated natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons producer with strong links to the government.
Fitch Ratings said in a November assessment: “We expect UNG's leverage to improve from 2025 as its gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant is now operational and should start to more significantly contribute to UNG's earnings from 2024 but it remains subject to operational risks.
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