Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) reported a significant increase in operating profit for the third quarter of this year, driven by improved profitability in its overseas liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations. The operating profit rose by more than 50% compared to the same period last year. However, the company continues to face financial pressure, with raw material receivables exceeding 14.6 trillion won due to frozen city gas rates.
On November 12, KOGAS announced that its consolidated revenue for the third quarter reached 7.5059 trillion won, a 17.8% increase from 6.3722 trillion won in the same period last year.
The operating profit was 587.8 billion won, up 51.1% from 389 billion won in the third quarter of last year. Net profit also surged to 272.4 billion won, a 213.8% increase from 86.8 billion won.
For the first three quarters of this year, cumulative revenue totaled 26.8161 trillion won, a 0.3% increase compared to the same period last year. Cumulative operating profit rose by 33.5% to 2.1731 trillion won, while net profit increased by 115.1% to 1.1595 trillion won.
The improvement in performance is primarily attributed to enhanced profitability in overseas resource development projects. The combined operating profit from six major overseas projects in the third quarter was 409.9 billion won, an increase of 3.045 trillion won from 105.4 billion won in the same period last year.
Notably, the operating profit from KOGAS's Canadian LNG project surged from 9.5 billion won in the third quarter of last year to 245.4 billion won this year, driven by increased production and operational stability. The Australian GLNG project also turned a profit, reporting an operating profit of 63.8 billion won this year, compared to an operating loss of 2.4 billion won last year. The operating profit from the Mozambique Coral FLNG project increased from 36.1 billion won to 43.4 billion won.
However, challenges remain in improving financial stability. As of the end of September, KOGAS's raw material receivables stood at 14.6451 trillion won, an increase of 466.9 billion won from 14.1782 trillion won at the end of June. Receivables for raw materials used in residential city gas reached 13.8277 trillion won.
Raw material receivables arise from selling gas at prices lower than the actual cost of supply, and the company will need to recover these amounts through future rate adjustments.
On a positive note, the total debt has decreased. As of the end of September, KOGAS's consolidated debt was 41.3533 trillion won, down 1.4756 trillion won from the end of last year. The debt ratio also improved, dropping from 397% at the end of last year to 354%, a decrease of 43 percentage points.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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