Doha: Qatar Fuel Company, (Woqod)) which has the exclusive concession to distribute, sell, transport and market refined petroleum products and gas in Qatar, yesterday reported a net profit (excluding minority rights) of QR226m for the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2020, compared to QR327m for the same period in 2019, with a decrease of QR101m, or 31 percent.
Woqod’s earning per share reached QR0.23 by the end of first quarter 2020 compared to QR0.33 for the same period last year.
This was announced during the company’s Board of Directors’ second meeting for the year which was presided over by chairman Ahmed Saif Al Sulaiti. In order to comply with governmental restrictions issued to combat the spread of COVID-19, the meeting was held remotely through video call. During the meeting, the Board discussed the performance of the company’s business operations and financial results.
The decrease of the net profits and earning per share for the period were partly attributed to the market slow down prompted by COVID-19 spread and partly to supply and demand factors, where the completion of many projects that consume fuel had brought in a pro rata decrease in the overall fuel demand.
With regard to the company’s operations, Woqod Managing Director and CEO Saad Rashid Al Muhannadi explained that the company’s overall sales decreased by 6.0 percent compared to the same period last year, which was driven by the COVID-19 impact.
Diesel and Super Gasoline sales decreased by 8.0 percent and 7.4 percent respectively. Jet fuel volumes decreased by 6.4 percent driven by the reduced operations of Qatar Airways and partial operations of Private Airlines, and Bitumen sales has decreased by 65.0 percent driven by market situations and the completion of the consuming projects.
On the other hand Al Muhannadi explained that premium gasoline sales increased by 0.9 percent, retail non-fuel revenue and fuel retail sales increased by 5.8 percent and 3.5 percent respectively, compared to the same period last year due to the opening of new stations and higher footfall in C-stores. HFO offtake increased by 39.5 percent due to market demand, LPG and Natural Gas sales were higher by 3.1 percent and 22.8 percent respectively driven by market demand.
In conclusion, Al Muhannadi indicated that Woqod has been working closely with its partners and stakeholders to coordinate the implementation of all the governmental directives issued in furtherance of combating the spread of COVID-19.
At the same time, being the sole downstream oil and gas company responsible for securing a continuous and sustainable supply of petroleum products and gas to all sectors within the State of Qatar, Woqod has issued and implemented a suitable, elastic and resilient business continuity plan that could effectively secure a persistent nonstop countrywide distribution of these vital energy products, he added.
